BB 
•BB 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 


A  SUMMER'S  OUTING 


AND 


THE  OLD  MAN'S  STORY 


BY 


CARTER  H.  HARRISON. 


CHICAGO : 
DIBBLE  PUBLISHING  CO. 

1891. 


COPYRIGHTED    BY 

DIBBLE  PUBLISHING  CO 

1891 

ALL  RIGHTS  RESERVED 


G.   M.   D.   LIBBY 

PRINTER   AND   ELECTROTYPER 
CHICAGO 


PREFACE. 

"  A  Summer's  Outing  "  comprises  letters  has- 
tily written  while  the  writer  was  on  the  wing. 
Being  printed  in  the  CHICAGO  TRIBUNE  they 
weie  favorably  received  by  many  friends,,  who 
have  urged  their  being  published  in  book  form, 
as  a  thing  now  needed  by  would-be  tourists  to 
the  Yellowstone  National  Park  and  to  Alaska. 
To  this  end  they  were  revised  and  somewhat 
enlarged.  If  the  little  book  be  of  little  value, 
the  apology  is  offered  that  it  will  be,  too,  of  little 
cost. 

"  The  Old  Man's  Story  "  is  thrown  in  as  fill- 
ing between  two  covers,  and  need  not  be  read 
except  by  those  who  find  an  idle  hour  hard  to 

dispose  of. 

CARTER  H.  HARRISON. 

231  Ashland  Boulevard, 

Chicago,  May  6th,  1891. 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


INTRODUCTION. 

The  Writer  Indulges  in  Fancies 9 

LETTER  I. 

A  Run  Through  Pretty  Wisconsin  and  Minnesota — 
Beautiful  St.  Paul — Jealousy  Between  Twin  Cities — 
An  Indignant  St.  Paul  Democrat  and  a  Careless 
Seattle  Man — Dakota  and  the  Dirty  Missouri  River 
— A  Dissertation  on  Waste  of  Land  and  Destruc- 
tion of  Trees — The  Bad  Lands — The  Yellowstone 
River — Gateway  to  National  Park  and  its  Guar- 
dian Eagle , 15 

LETTER  II. 

The  National  Park,  "  The  Wonderland  of  the  Globe"— 
The  Home  of  the  Evil  One — Steam  Vents— Geys- 
ers—The  Grotto— The  Giant  — The  Bee-Hive— 
The  Castle  and  Old  Faithful  in  the  Upper  Geyser 
Basin 27 

LETTER  III. 

Mammoth  Hot  Springs — A  Wonderful  Formation — The 
White  Elephant — A  Theory  Accounting  for  the 
Hot  Springs  and  Geysers — Mud  Geysers — Marvel- 
ous Colorings  of  Some  Pools 45 

5 


6  TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 

LETTER   IV. 

How  to  do  the  Park — Hotels  and  Vehicles — My  Inno- 
cents— Charming  Scenery — Natural  Meadows — Wild 
Animals — Beautiful  Flowers — Debts  to  the  Devil- 
Camp  Life  and  Fishing — Wonderful  Canyon — 
Painted  Rocks — Glorious  Waterfalls — Nature  Gro- 
tesque and  Beautiful 59 

LETTER  V. 

We  Leave  the  Park  Satisfied— Helena— Its  Gold  Bear- 
ing Foundations — Broadwater — A  Magnificent  Nat- 
atoriurn — A  Wild  Ride  Through  Town — Crossing 
the  Rockies — Spokane — A  Busy  Town — Midnight 
Picnic — Fine  Agricultural  Country — Sage  Bush  a 
Blessing — Picturesque  Run  Over  the  Cascades — 
Acres  of  Malt  Liquors — Tacoma — A  Startling- 
Vision  of  Mt.  Renier  (Tacoma) — Washington,  a 
Great  State...  ...82 


LETTER  VI. 

Thriving  and  Picturesque  Seattle — Two  Curious  Meet- 
ings— Victoria  and  its  Flowers — Esquimault  and  the 
Warspite — Two  Broken  Hearted  Girls — Charming 
Sail  on  the  Island  Sea — Picturesque  Mountains — 
Growth  of  Alaska — Whales  and  their  Sports — Na- 
tive Alaskans — Their  Homes,  Habits,  Food,  Feasts 
and  Wild  Music — Baskets  and  Blankets — Salmon 
Fisheries — Mines  and  Dogs 102 


TABLE  OF   CONTENTS.  7 

LETTER  VII. 

Steaming  up  the  Ice-Packed  Fiords  and  Channels  of  the 
Arctic  Country  owned  by  Uncle  Sam — Salmon  Can- 
neries— Canoe  Building  by  Natives — Ascent  of  the 
"  Muir"  Glacier,  an  Ice  Cliff  300  Feet  High — Fan- 
tastic Ice  Formations  at  Takou — Summer  and  Win- 
ter Climates  — -  Impudent  Crows  and  Oratorical 
Ravens 134 

LETTER  VIII. 

Vancouver — A  Picturesque,  Growing  City — A  Run  over 
the  Canadian  Pacific — Magnificent  Scenery  met  with 
from  the  Start — A  Glorious  Ride — Fraser  River 
Glutted  with  Salmon — A  Never-Tiring  View  from 
Glacier  House,  Four  Thousand  Feet  above  the  Sea 
— Rugged,  Precipitous  Grandeur  of  the  Selkirks  and 
Rockies — Natural  Beauties  of  Banff — Reflections  at 
the  "Soo."' 162 

CHAPTER  IX. 

The  St.  Mary's  River — Charming  Scenery — The  Locality 
for  Summer  Homes — An  Episode — Mackinaw — 
Grand  Rapids,  a  Beautiful  City 196 


PART  II. 

"THE  OLD  MAN'S  STORY." 
The  Secret  of  the  Big  Rock 203 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


CARTER  H.  HARRISON,  (Frontispiece.) 

TERRACE,  MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS Page  16 

THE  GIANT,  UPPER  GEYSER  BASIN "     32 

JUPITER  TERRACE,  MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS....  "     48 

MAP  ILLUSTRATING  GEYSER  ACTIONS "    54 

THE  GROTTO,  UPPER  GEYSER  BASIN "    64 

THE  BISCUIT  BOWL,  UPPER  BASIN "    80 

OLD  FAITHFUL "    9° 

GRAND  CANYON...  "  112 


8 


INTRODUCTION. 

THE  WRITER   INDULGES   IN   FANCIES. 

The  summer  outing  is  a  fad — a  necessity  of 
fashion.  Reigning  beauty  bares  its  brow  on 
ocean  waves  and  climbs  mountain  heig'hts,  court- 
ing sun-kisses.  Jaunty  sailor  hats  and  narrow 
visored  caps  are  donned,  that  the  amber  burning 
of  the  summer's  excursion  may  be  displayed  at 
early  assemblies  of  heraldic  Four  Hundred. 
Anglo-mania  has  taught  at  least  one  good  les- 
son— that  the  russet  cheek  of  romping  health  is 
more  kiss-tempting  than  the  rose-in-cream  of 
beauty  lolling  on  downy  cushions.  Blite  closes 
its  massive  doors  and  draws  down  front  window 
shades  ;  Paterfamilias  sweats  in  his  struggle  to 
force  a  balance  to  the  credit  side,  and  mothers 
and  daughters  sit  at  back  windows  in  glare  of 
sunlight,  wooing  sun-beams,  while  notices  of 
u  Out  of  town"  are  already  placarded  on  front 
stoops. 

The  summer  outing  is  urged  by  honest  doc- 
tors, with  the  admission  that  change  of  air  and 
scene  is  oftentimes  worth  more  than  all  the  nos- 
trums doled  out  over  apothecaries'  counters. 
Motion  is  nature's  first  inexorable  law.  A  tiny 
drop  of  water  is  pressed  between  two  plates  of 
glass,  apparently  rendering  the  slightest  motion 
impossible.  The  microscope  fills  it  with  scores 


IO  INTRODUCTION. 

or  hundreds  of  beings  full  of  life  and  energy, 
disporting  in  pleasure  or  waging  deadly  battle. 
Around  us  and  about  us  nothing  is  still.  The 
grasses  grow  in  refreshing  green  and  spring  be- 
neath the  feet,  but  ere  the  wane  of  day,  wither 
and  crackle  under  the  tread.  Flowers  bloom  in 
beauty  and  within  the  hour  fade  in  ugliness. 
The  rock  ribs  of  earth  expand  and  contract 
under  tidal  commands  of  sun  and  moon,  and 
continents  lift  from,  or  are  sinking  beneath 
briny  oceans. 

The  gleaming  sun,  so  rounded  in  glowing 
calmness  as  he  gently  circles  across  the  vaulted 
sky,  is  a  raging  mass  of  countless  millions  boil- 
ing, dashing,  burning  jets,  in  anyone  of  which 
fiery  Vesuvius  would  be  lost  as  a  dim  spark. 
Myriads  of  starry  spheres  flecking  the  midnight 
sky,  are  mighty  suns  tortured  by  inconceivable 
convulsions.  Far  off  beyond  them  the  telescopic 
lens  dips  up  from  limitless  space  countless  suns, 
all  boiling,  roaring  and  raging  in  unending, 
monstrous  motion. 

Motion  evolves  change.  Change  goes  on 
everywhere,  declares  science!  Change,  cries 
orthodoxy,  is  universal  save  in  One — the  ever- 
lasting, unchangeable  maker  of  all  things! 
Orthodoxy  tells  us  that  man — man  the  soul 
— ,  was  made  in  God's  image  and  was  by  him 
pronounced  good.  The  "good"  in  God's  eye  must 


INTRODUCTION.  II 

be  perfect.  We  know  that  man — the  soul  man — 
grows — the  perfect  therefore  grows  and  perfection 
becomes  more  perfect.  A  Paradox  !  So  is  that 
mathematical  truth  that  two  parallel  lines  drawn 
towards  infinity,  meet. 

The  deathless  soul  emanates  from  God. 
Is  the  question  irreverent?  May  not  the 
Eternal  who  started  then  and  keeps  all  things 
moving  and  growing — may  not  He  grow  in  per- 
fection ?  May  not  the  Omnipotent  become  more 
potent,  the  Omniscient  wiser  ?  Being  given  to 
digression,  I  give  this  in  advance  to  save  the 
reader  one  later  on. 

In  obedience  to  fashion's  and  nature's  law,  I 
would  put  myself  in  motion  and  would  seek 
change.  I  will  take  an  "  outing  "  in  this  sum- 
mer of  A.  D.  1890. 

My  daughter,  a  school  girl,  will  go  with  me. 
The  old  and  those  growing  old,  should  attach  to 
themselves  the  young.  Old  tree  trunks  in 
tropical  climes  wrap  themselves  in  thrifty  grow- 
ing vines.  The  green  mantle  wards  off  the  sun's 
hot  rays,  and  prevents  to  some  extent  too  rapid 
evaporation.  Gray-haired  grandfathers  often- 
times delight  to  promenade  with  toddling  grand- 
children. This  is  good  for  momentary  divertise- 
ment,  but  for  steady  regimen  it  is  a  mistake. 
Callow  childhood  furnishes  not  to  the  old,  proper 
companionship.  The  unfledged  but  intense  vi- 


12  INTRODUCTION. 

tality  of  the  one  may  sap  the  slow-running  cur- 
rent of  the  other,  and  reduce  it  to  the  lower 
level — to  second  childhood.  Age  should  tie  to 
itself  ripening  youth.  Then  heart  and  spring- 
tide is  absorbed  by  the  older,  and  ripe  experience 
given  to  the  younger  in  exchange. 

We  resolve  to  do  the  Yellowstone  National 
Park,  by  way  of  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad, 
thence  onward  to  Puget  Sound  and  Alaska  to  re- 
turn by  the  Canadian  Pacific.  We  hope  for 
health,  pleasure  and  brain  food.  I  shall  write 
of  our  goings  and  comings,  that  my  friends  at 
home  may  through  our  eyes  feel  that  they  are 
voyaging  with  us. 

A  beautiful  or  grand  scene  is  doubly  enjoyed 
when  one  feels  he  may  through  a  letter  have 
hundreds  see  what  he  sees  and  as  he  sees.  They 
become  his  companions  and  hold  sweet  com- 
munion with  him,  though  thousands  of  miles 
may  lie  between  them.  This  is  sympathy,  and 
sympathy  makes  the  joy  of  life.  The  tete-a-tete 
between  lovers  ''beneath  the  milk-white  thorn 
that  scents  the  evening  gale,"  is  delicious.  But  not 
more  sweet  than  the  communion  between  the 
orator  and  the  mighty  audience  which  he  sways 
and  bends  at  will.  He  holds  a  tete-a  tete  with 
each  of  his  listeners. 

Byron  swore  he  "  loved  not  the  world,  nor  the 
world  him."  The  bard  was  self-deceived.  He 


INTRODUCTION.  13 

wrote  that  he  might  win  the  sympathy  of  mil- 
lions. Bayard  Taylor  told  the  writer  once  that  he 
wrote  from  an  irresistible  impulse.  His  warm, 
generous  nature  yearned  for  the  sympathy  of  a 
reading  world.  I  shall  write  that  a  few  hundred 
may  see  through  my  eyes — may  feel  when  my 
heart  beats,  and  for  a  few  brief  hours  may  be  in 
sympathy  with  me.  Some  one  possibly  may 
sneer  "  Cacoethes  Scribendi."  Catch  the  retort, 
u  Honi  soit  qui  Mal-y-pense." 


LETTER  I. 

A  RUN  THROUGH  PRETTY  WISCONSIN  AND  MINNE- 
SOTA. BEAUTIFUL  ST.  PAUL.  JEALOUSY  BE- 
TWEEN TWIN  CITIES.  AN  INDIGNANT  ST. 
PAUL  DEMOCRAT  AND  A  CARELESS  SEATTLE 
MAN.  DAKOTA  AND  THE  DIRTY  MISSOURI 
RIVER.  A  DISSERTATION  ON  WASTE  OF  LAND 
AND  DESTRUCTION  OF  TREES.  THE  BAD 
LANDS.  THE  YELLOWSTONE  RIVER.  GATE- 
WAY TO  NATIONAL  PARK  AND  ITS  GUARDIAN 
EAGLE. 

MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS,  July  17,  1890. 
We  left  Chicago  by  the  Wisconsin  Central 
Railroad  for  St.  Paul.  From  the  beginning  the 
run  was  interesting,  especially  to  one  who  re- 
members what  the  country  was  thirty-five  years 
ago — an  almost  flat  prairie  of  tangled  grass,  in 
which  the  water  was  held  as  in  a  morass,  prom- 
ising but  little  to  the  ambitious  earth -tiller.  I 
recall  a  remark  of  Senator  Douglas  when  the 
future  of  our  flat  prairies  was  being  discussed  in 
my  presence  thirty-five  years  ago  :  "  People  do 
not  realize  that  the  drainage  problem  is  being 
now  daily  solved.  The  leader  of  a  herd  of  cattle 
browsing  the  prairies,  is  an  engineer,  and  his 
followers  faithful  laborers  in  making  ditches. 
When  going  to  and  from  their  grazing  grounds, 
they  march  in  line  and  tread  down  paths  which. 

I5 


16  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

make  no  mean  drains.  The  cattle  of  Illinois  are 
annually  lifting  millions  of  acres  out  of  the 
swamp  into  good  arable  lands." 

As  soon  as  the  Des  Plaines  was  crossed,  good 
farms  began,  and  comfortable  farm  houses  were 
always  in  sight ;  oats  bent  and  waved  in  light 
green,  and  corn  stood  sturdy  in  emerald,  where 
a  third  of  a  century  ago,  even  in  July,  a  pedes- 
trian was  compelled  to  step  from  ant-hill  to 
ant-hill  to  keep  his  ankles  dry.  Copses  of 
young  wood  relieved  the  monotony  of  too  much 
flatness,  and  in  a  few  hours  after  our  start,  pretty 
lakes  shimmered  in  the  sinking  sun  light,  and 
sweetly  homelike  villas  were  ever  in  view.  We 
crossed  the  Wisconsin  line,  and  hill  and  vale  or 
gentle  undulations  with  •  wooded  heights  and 
flowing  streams,  and  villages  and  saw  mills  en- 
livened the  journey. 

In  the  distant  future  when  population  shall 
become  abundant,  and  tasteful  homesteads  shall 
replace  somewhat  speculative  shanties,  few  coun- 
tries of  the  world  will  be  more  pleasingly  rural 
than  southern  and  middle  Wisconsin. 

Books  should  be  carried  by  the  tourist  in  his 
trunk,  and  newspapers  should  be  religiously  dis- 
carded throughout  the  run  to  St.  Paul.  The 
country  traversed  opens  many  a  pleasing  page 
during  the  summer  months,  and  glowing  pic- 
tures are  spread  before  him  on  nature's  living 


MAMMOTH    HOT    SPRINGS.  17 

canvass.  He  unfortunately  loses  much  when 
the  curtain  of  night  is  drawn  over  God's  own 
impartial  book :  the  book  which  never  misleads 
if  carefully  read  and  studiously  digested. 

At  St.  Paul  we  had  some  hours  to  ride  about 
the  pretty  town,  before  boarding  the  Northern 
Pacific  railroad  for  our  long  journey  to  Puget's 
Sound.  This  great  road  has  the  singular  char- 
acteristic of  having  double  termini  at  each  end, 
and  between  each  of  the  twins  there  exists  a 
feud  rarely  found  except  between  cities  engaged 
in  actual  war  with  ea*ch  other. 

Athens  and  Sparta  hated  each  other  not  as  do 
St.  Paul  and  Minneapolis..  Just  now,  owing  to 
the  taking  of  the  census,  there  is  blood  in  the 
eye  of  every  St.  Paulite.  An  elderly  gentleman 
introduced  himself  to  me  the  other  day  at  the 

station.  After  a  while  he  said:  "  It  is  a 

shame  the  way  the  United  States  is  treating  St. 
Paul.  I  am  a  Democrat,  sir,  and  can  stand  a 
little  stuffing  of  the  ballot-box,  but  I  draw  the 
line  there.  I  can't  stand  the  stuffing  of  the  cen- 
sus. We  are  willing  to  concede  to  Minneapolis 
10,000  more  population  than  we  have,  but  Har- 
rison ought  to  be  turned  out  of  office  for  running 
it  up  to  40,000.  It  is  a  fraud,  sir — a  miserable 
Republican  fraud.  We  will  be  revenged,  sir, 
and  will  show  our  teeth  next  fall  and  don't  you 
forget  it."  I  sympathized  with  him  and  felt  like 


1 8  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

marching  to  Washington  at   once   to  send  my 
cousin  Ben  back  to  Hoosierdom. 

In  the  National  Park  I  saw  at  four  different 
hotels  the  names  of  Mr.  -  -  Mrs.  -  -  and  two 
little  blanks.  There  was  a  bracket  after  the 
names,  but  the  writer  had  evidently  forgotten  to 
write  in  the  address.  The  name  preceding  his 
on  the  first  book  was  from  Boston.  At  the  next 
place  the  preceding  person  was  from  New  York, 
and  again  from  some  other  city.  The  fourth 
day  at  dinner  I  was  introduced  to  the  head  of 
the  family.  He  was  from  Seattle.  I  asked  him 
why  it  was  he  had  not  put  in  his  address,  declar- 
ing I  would  tell  it  on  him  at  Tacoma.  "  Good 
Heavens  !  "  he  exclaimed,  "  have  I  done  that?" 
He  rushed  back  to  the  register  and  wrote 
"  Seattle  "  as  big  as  a  John  Hancock.  The  next 
time  we  met  in  a  crowd,  I  twitted  him  about  the 
thing.  He  then  declared  he  must  have  left  out 
the  address  instinctively  from  a  natural  aversion 
to  being  known  to  come  from  any  spot  so  close 
to  Tacoma.  Considerable  jealousy  of  St.  Paul 
on  the  part  of  her  twin  city  is  natural,  for  it  is  a 
beautiful  town.  Its  residences  on  the  hills  are 
very  fine,  and  their  locations  lovely  beyond 
those  of  all  but  few  cities.  The  entire  town  was 
very  clean,  and  in  the  hill  portion  bright  and 
cheerful.  The  residences  are  generally  sur- 
rounded by  considerable  grounds,  filled  with 


MAMMOTH    HOT  SPRINGS.  19 

trees  and  shrubbery,  in  much  variety  and  in 
luxuriant  growth.  The  young  girl  with  me  fell 
so  completely  in  love  with  the  clean,  pretty 
place,  that  she  declared,  if  she  ever  got  married 
it  would  be  to  a  St.  Paul  man. 

The  run  through  Minnesota  is  as  if  through 
a  great  park.  Everything  is  green  and  bright. 
Copse,  meadow  and  field  are  as  fresh  as  a  May 
morning.  The  natural  location  of  frequent 
wooded  clumps,  of  prairie  openings  and  of  lakes, 
could  hardly  be  improved  by  a  landscape  engi- 
neer. We  passed  the  great  wheat  fields  of  Da- 
kota at  night,  but  I  thought  there  was  far  less 
of  barren  plain  and  alkali  patches  as  we  ap- 
proached the  Missouri  river,  than  I  saw  there 
seven  years  ago. 

How  different  the  feelings  with  which  we  ap- 
proached the  Missouri  from  those  experienced  as 
we  drew  near  the  Mississippi  !  One  cannot  get 
up  a  feeling  of  respect  for  the  tortuous,  treach- 
erous, muddy,  long  and  snake-like  ditch.  One 
takes  off  his  hat  to  the  Father  of  Waters,  but 
feels  like  kicking,  if  he  had  a  place  to  kick,  this 
lengthy,  nasty  thing.  No  one  can  see  any  real 
use  for  it,  except  as  a  tributary  to  and  feeder  of 
the  Mississippi.  It  has  not  and  never  had  a 
placid  infancy.  Several  of  its  upper  feeders  are 
beautiful,  clear,  rapid,  purling  streams.  But 
some  of  them  apparently  without  rhyme  or 


20  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

reason  suddenly  become  flowing  mud.  One 
dashes  on  a  train  along  one  and  wishes  he  could 
alight  to  cast  a  fly  for  a  speckled  beauty.  The 
road  takes  a  turn  around  a  mountain  spur,  and 
lo!  the  crystal  stream  has  become  liquid  mud,  to 
prepare  itself,  I  suppose,  for  the  mucky  thing  it 
will  soon  join.  Possibly  and  probably,  these 
transformations  are  owing  to  a  miner's  camp  and 
a  placer  washing  on  the  other  side  of  the  spur. 

North  Dakota  has  not  become  settled  along 
the  railroad,  after  quitting  the  great  wheat  belt, 
as  I  expected.  Farms  are  very  scattered,  and 
when  seen  are  small  and  wear  an  air  of  neglect. 
Yet  the  native  plains  are  cheerful  looking  and 
roll  off  in  green  undulations.  The  Forest 
Commissioners,  if  there  be  any,  must  find  some 
more  hardy  species  of  trees  than  those  now  used 
to  enable  them  to  grow  brakes  for  warding  off 
the  winds  and  blizzards.  The  railroad  people 
have  planted  many  trees,  but  they  do  not  thrive. 
They  seem  alive  about  the  roots,  but  dead  after 
reaching  one  or  two  feet.  Possibly  a  blanket  of 
snow  lies  about  the  roots  in  winter  and  protects 
them  ;  but  the  alternation  of  cold  and  hot  winds 
apparently  kills  the  sap  as  it  rises  higher  up. 
Government  should  inaugurate  a  thorough 
system  of  arboriculture,  inviting  and  encouraging 
a  real  science. 

The  Socialists  say  the  Nation  should  own  the 
land.  To  a  certain  degree  the  Socialists  are 


MAMMOTH    HOT    SPRINGS.  21 

right.  The  fountain  of  land  ownership  is  in  the 
Government.  It  should  maintain  such  owner- 
ship to  a  certain  extent  throughout  all  time. 
"The  earth  is  the  Lord's  and  the  fullness  there- 
of." Government  is  and  should  be  the  lord  of 
the  domain,  and  should  never  part  with  such  con- 
trol as  may  prevent  private  owners  from  destroy- 
ing the  land  which  is  to  be  the  heritage  of  the 
people  to  the  latest  generation.  It  should  forbid 
and  prevent  a  waste  of  land.  To  this  end  it 
should  force  the  husbanding  of  all  resources  for 
the  improvement  of  that  which  is  to  support  the 
people  for  all  time.  No  private  owner  should  be 
allowed  to  destroy  wantonly  that  which  comes 
from  mother  earth.  What  comes  from  the  bosom 
of  the  land,  and  is  not  essential  to  feed  and 
maintain  the  cultivator,  should  be  given  back  to 
it.  A  man  should  be  fined  who  burns  manure. 
Man  should  not  cut  timber  to  such  an  extent  as 
to  reduce  a  necessary  rainfall.  Commissioners 
should  determine  from  scientific  data,  how  much 
of  forest  is  necessary  in  fixed  districts  of  the 
country,  and  when  so  determined  no  one  should 
be  permitted  to  cut  a  tree  without  replacing  it 
by  a  young  one.  In  the  Old  World  millions  of 
acres  are  now  worthless  which  once  supported 
teeming  populations;  all  because  they  have  been 
denuded  of  trees.  Nearly  all  European  countries 
as  well  as  India  are  now,  and  have  been  for  some 


22  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

years,  earnestly  endeavoring  to  check  this  evil. 
Commissioners  of  Forestry,  earnest  and  educated 
men,  have  been  appointed.  Schools  of  Forestry 
are  fostered  by  the  state.  The  betterment  has 
been  so  marked,  that  the  ordinary  pleasure  seek- 
ing traveler  sees  a  wonderful  change  between 
visits  separated  b}^  twenty  or  thirty  years. 
America  has  countless  millions  of  acres  scarcely 
capable  of  supporting  a  human  being,  which 
could  be  made  to  wave  in  cereals  or  grow  fat  in 
edible  roots,  if  only  trees  were  grown  to  induce 
a  somewhat  regular  rainfall. 

The  arid  plains  of  the  Great  West  have  the 
richest  of  known  soils,  if  a  little  human  sweat 
mixed  with  water  in  sufficient  quantity  could 
be  kneaded  into  ft.  Government  as  the  lord 
paramount  of  its  domain,  should  force  the  grow- 
ing of  trees  and  should  prevent  the  destruction 
of  timber  wherever  the  same  is  necessary  to  keep 
u*p  or  improve  the  land.  It  has  parted  with  the 
title  to  the  soil,  but  still  retains  the  power  to  use 
it  for  its  own  support.  It  levies  and  collects 
taxes  from  lands  as  the  paramount  owner.  The 
same  power  exists  to  prevent  the  waste  of  that 
from  which  its  taxes  spring  or  through  which  its 
people  may  live. 

"  No  one  is  a  man,"  says  the  Arab  maxim, 
u  until  he  has  planted  a  tree,  dug  a  well,  and 
grown  a  boy."  The  nation  is  an  aggregation  of 


MAMMOTH    HOT    SPRINGS.  23 

men  and  should  follow  the  maxim.  The  states- 
man who  devises  a  good  system  of  taxation  is 
entitled  to  the  praises  of  all  men,  but  he  is  but 
a  pigmy  to  the  man  who  turns  sterile  deserts 
into  places  of  plenty,  or  who  make  many  blades 
of  grass  grow  where  now  only  one  springs  up. 
I  am  ready  to  bow  down  before  the  man  who  will 
maintain  and  improve  the  soil  of  our  Eastern 
States,  or  will  shower  over  the  West  a  copious 
rainfall. 

Bismark  was  disappointing.  It  has  not  im- 
proved as  could  have  been  expected  since  we 
helped  to  lay  the  corner-stone  of  its  Capitol 
seven  years  ago. 

BAD  LANDS  OR  "  MAUVAJSES  TERRES." 

The  "  bad  lands  "  are  as  God- forsaken  in  ap- 
pearance as  they  were  years  since.  There  the 
very  earth  has  been  burned  and  the  Evil  One 
seems  to  have  set  his  foot-print  on  every  rod. 
Men  do  live  in  them,  but  more  blessed  is  he  who 
dies  in  genial  surroundings !  What  a  hold 
upon  us  has  the  love  of  life  !  So  short  and  such 
a  bauble !  How  worthless  when  robbed,  as  it 
must  be  in  this  bleak  tract,  of  every  concomitant 
of  the  joyful!  Only  the  All-powerful  can  re- 
claim the  soil  of  the  u  bad  lands,"  and  not  until  a 
cataclysm  has  carried  it  1,000  fathoms  beneath 
the  sea,  will  it  be  fitted  for  sunlight  and  readjfrto 


24  A    SUMMERS    OUTING. 

support  life.  It  has  been  burned  up  with  the 
coals  and  lignites  which  underlaid  the  surface. 
After  striking  the  Yellowstone  Valley  the  ride 
westward  becomes  pretty.  The  mountains  are 
bold,  with  fine  outlines,  often  lifting  in  pictur- 
esque precipices  from  the  water's  edge.  Great 
strata  of  coal  are  frequently  seen  stretching  in 
level  parallel  lines  for  considerable  distances. 
Snow  appears  in  seams  and  gorges  on  the 
loftiest  heights.  While  not  offering  as  grand 
displays  as  are  seen  in  one  or  two  points  of 
other  across-the-continent  roads,  the  Northern 
Pacific  presents  more  varied  scenery,  and  far 
more  that  is  pleasing  and  restful  to  the  eye,  than 
any  other  except  the  Canadian  Pacific. 

To  most  travelers  much  of  the  scenery  of  the 
Northern  Pacific  until  Helena  is  reached  is  mo- 
notonous. But  to  one  disposed  to  be  a  student 
of  nature  and  a  lover  of  its  varied  forms,  many 
instructive  lessons  can  be  conned  from  the  car 
window,  and  many  pleasing  pictures  hastily  en- 
joyed. The  Yellowstone,  along  whose  banks 
the  road  runs  for  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles, 
is  a  cheerful  stream.  When  first  reached  it  is 
muddy,  but  after  the  mouths  of  one  or  two  large 
affluents  have  been  passed  it  becomes  clear  and 
limpid.  Its  flow  is  almost  constantly  rapid  and 
turbulent.  But  few  still  reaches  are  seen,  and 
are  rarely  over  a  mile  or  so  in  length.  On 


MAMMOTH     HOT   SPRINCzS.  25 

one  or  the  other  bank  considerable  mountains 
lift  from  the  water's  edge,  in  lofty,  clea.-cut 
precipices.  The  upper  slopes  have  but  few 
trees  and  rarely  any  clumps  or  masses,  but  of- 
fer much  variety  in  earth  coloring.  Light 
brown,  sometimes  deepening  into  chocolate,  is 
the  dominant  tone.  There  are  frequent  stretches 
of  yellow,  here  and  there  flecked  with  patches  or 
bands  of  Venetian  red.  This  latter  sometimes 
takes  a  tint  so  bright  as  to  merit  being  called 
vermilion. 

At  Livingston,  a  thousand  and  odd  miles  from 
St.  Paul,  we  left  the  Northern  Pacific,  and  by  a 
narrow-gauge  road  continued  vip  the  Yellow- 
stone, fifty-one  miles  to  Cinnabar;  thence  by 
Park  coaches,  wagonettes  and  surreys,  eight 
miles  along  the  wildly  rushing  Gardner  river, 
and  through  a  narrow  defile  hemmed  in  by 
lofty  precipices  beneath  frowning  crags — the 
gateway  to  the  park — to  the  "  Mammoth  Hot 
Springs."  Near  the  gateway  on  a  lofty  pinnacled 
rock,  so  slender  as  at  first  to  be  mistaken  for 
the  trunk  of  a  huge  tree,  sat  an  eagle  upon  its 
eyrie,  keeping  watch  and  ward  over  the  entrance 
to  the  people's  pleasure  ground.  The  bird's 
nest  is  built  of  loose  sticks  laid  upon  the  rocky 
point,  which  is  not  broader  than  a  good-sized 
tree  stump.  How  it  withstands  the  dash  of 
storms,  which  often  rage  through  the  narrow 


26  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

pass,  is  a  marvel.  Yet  it  has  been  there  for 
many  years,  and  each  year  sends  forth  it  young 
brood.  I  regret  to  say  this  eagle  is  not  the  gen- 
uine American  screamer,  which  so  grandly 
spreads  its  wings  upon  the  daddy's  dollar,  but  is 
the  great  white-headed  fish-hawk.  He  is  easily 
mistaken  for  the  bald  eagle,  but  is  smaller  and  a 
somewhat  sociable  bird,  building  his  home  near 
by  those  of  others  of  his  species.  The  true  eagle  is 
sullen  and  solitary,  and  chooses  his  eyrie  many 
miles  removed  from  his  fellows.  Indeed  he 
spurns  all  fellowship  with  his  kind. 

All  tourists  delight  to  look  at  the  "Devils 
Slide"  in  the  Gardner  canyon.  It  is  from  five 
to  six  hundred  feet  high,  a  few  feet  broad,  be- 
tween thin  slate  dykes;  and  as  smooth  as  a  tobog- 
gan way.  As  there  is  no  record  that  the  father 
of  lies  was  acquainted  with  sand  paper,  there  is 
a  peculiar  pleasure  in  imagining  the  grinding 
away  of  the  seat  of  his  trousers,  while  he  was 
polishing  down  his  coaching  slide.  In  spite  of 
what  the  preachers  say,  there  is  no  doubt  that 
man,  woman  and  child  hate  the  devil,  and  are 
delighted  by  any  evidence  of  annoyance  to  him. 


LETTER  II. 

THE  NATIONAL  PARK,  "THE  WONDERLAND  OF 
THE  GLOBE."  THE  HOME  OF  THE  EVIL  ONE. 
STEAM  VENTS.  GEYSERS.  THE  GROTTO. 
THE  GIANT.  THE  BEE  HIVE.  THE  CASTLE 
AND  OLD  FAITHFUL  IN  THE  UPPER  GEYSER 
BASIN. 

GRAND  CANYON, 
YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK,  July  22. 

American  dudes  of  both  sexes  wandering 
about  the  world  have  been  sorely  perplexed  be- 
cause Uncle  Sam  has  had  no  huge  ships  of  war 
with  which  to  display  his  grandeur  in  foreign 
ports,  and  no  embassadorial  residences  in  which 
Yankee  heels  may  air  themselves  to  advantage. 
When  foreigners  have,  made  allusion  to  our 
poverty  in  this  regard,  and  their  own  wealth  of 
splendor,  we  have  been  forced  to  fall  back  upon 
the  Yankee's  retort,  "Yes;  but  you  hain't  got 
no  Niagary."  Luckily  but  few  of  those  who 
taunted  us  were  aware  that  Niagara  was  simply 
located  in  the  United  States  but  did  not  belong 
to  it.  But  now  we  can  throw  back  at  the 
effete  denizens  of  other  lands  "  the  wonderland 
of  the  globe," — The  Yellowstone  National  Park — 
in  which  there  is  more  of  the  marvelous  sports 
of  nature  than  exists  in  the  entire  outer  world 
besides.  We  can  tell  them  of  these  wonders,  and 

27 


28  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

can  then  say  that  these  marvels  are  the  Nation's, 
and  that  this  park  of  over  3,500  square  miles  is 
maintained  by  the  Nation  for  the  people,  for 
their  amusement  and  recreation.  It  is  to  be  re- 
gretted that  more  of  the  surplus  which  has  been 
lying  idle  in  the  treasury  vaults  has  not  been  ex- 
pended to  enable  the  people  to  better  enjoy  their 
wealth  of  wonders.  The  people  may  read  of 
their  treasures ;  they  may  see  folios  of  illustra- 
tions, but  no  one  can  comprehend  them  without 
seeing  them  ;  no  pen  pictures  can  bring  them 
before  the  eye  of  one  who  has  not  been  here  ;  no 
photograph  can  display  their  forms  and  then  dye 
them  in  their  wondrous  colors ;  no  painter  can 
spread  them  upon  canvas,  for  he  would  at  once 
be  put  down  as  an  artistic  liar.  The  simple 
truth  is  an  exaggeration,  and  a  precise  copy  is  a 
distortion  of  nature's  molds. 

THE  EVIL  SPIRIT'S  ABODE. 

No  wonder  the  Indians  have  given  this  sec- 
tion of  the  country  a  wide  berth,  for  well  might 
they  believe  it  the  home  of  the  evil  spirit.  One  of 
them  straying  here  might  wander  for  days  and 
never  mount  an  elevated  point  without  being 
able  to  count  scores  of  columns  of  white  steam 
lifting  above  the  trees  from  different  points  of 
the  forest,  telling  him  of  the  wigwams  of  the 
evil  one.  If  he  stole  along  the  valleys,  he 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  29 

would  come  upon  pools  of  water  of  crystal  clear- 
ness tempting  in  appearance  to  the  thirsty  ;  some 
of  them  not  larger  than  the  blanket  which  cov- 
ered his  shoulders,  others  so  large  that  the 
tepees  of  half  his  tribe  would  not  cover  their 
area;  some  mere  jagged  holes  in  the  rock,  oth- 
ers with  rims  a  foot  or  so  in  height,  and  as  reg- 
ular as  his  pipe  of  peace.  Here  are  some  a  few 
inches  or  a  few  feet  in  depth,  with  bottoms  and 
sides  painted  in  rainbow  tints ;  there  are  others 
with  deep  sunken  walls  embossed  and  tufted,  and 
dyed  with  the  colors  of  the  setting  sun,  and  with 
dark  throats  so  deep  that  they  seem  to  be 
yawning  from  fathomless  depths.  Here  they 
are  as  placid  as  the  eye  of  the  papoose 
hanging  at  the  squaw  mother's  back.  Our 
Indian  pauses  at  the  painted  brink  of  one, 
dips  his  hand  into  the  tempting  fluid  - 
jerks  it  back  quickly,  but  perhaps  not  before 
it  is  scalded.  There  they  boil  up  one,  two,  three 
or  more  feet  and  appear  as  though  they  would 
pour  -out  a  flood  from  below,  but  not  a  drop 
passes  over  the  rim  of  the  pool.  The  boiling 
motion  is  from  volumes  of  steam  working  its 
way  through  the  waters  from  the  bowels  of  the 
earth  and  spreading  upon  the  breeze.  Boiling 
water  elsewhere  wastes  itself  away,  but  these  pools 
boil  and  boil  from  year  to  year,  and  scarcely 
vary  perceptibly  in  height.  Our  untutored 


30  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

tourist  turns  his  eye  upon  the  mountain  border- 
ing the  valley,  whose  sides  are  so  encrusted  with 
geyserite  deposit  that  it  appears  to  have 
been  formed  of  this  material,  and  to  have  been 
erected  by  boiling  springs ;  along  its  whitened 
side  and  far  up  on  its  crest  are  springs 
or  vents,  from  which  arise  columns  of  lifting 
steam  and  the  mountain  seems  to  roar ;  startled, 
he  hears  close  to  his  feet,  a  gurgling  sound  such 
as  comes  from  an  animal  whose  throat  is  newly 
cut.  His  eye  seeks  the  spot  whence  comes  this 
sound  of  death.  He  sees  an  orifice  in  the  ground 
not  large  enough  to  take  in  his  body,  but  from 
it  comes  the  death  rattle  a  hundred  times  louder 
than  the  largest  buffalo  could  make  when 
pierced  about  its  heart.  The  Evil  Spirit  is  slay- 
ing an  animal  so  huge  that  if  he  were  on  the 
ground  its  tread  would  shake  the  earth. 

A   WONDERFUL   PLATEAU. 

He  climbs  over  a  mountain  spur  and  sees 
spread  before  him  a  white  plateau  of  several 
hundred  acres.  Jets  of  steam  are  pouring  from 
a  thousand  points  of  its  surface,  some  rising  only 
a  few  feet,  others  lifting  500  feet  into  the  air ; 
here  from  fountains  boiling  merely,  or  spouting 
up  to  one,  two,  or  more  feet;  there  from  simple 
vent  holes  in  the  nearly  level  surface  of  the 
plain.  Some  pour  from  fantastic  forms — great 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  31 

stumps  of  trees  with  one  side  torn  away ;  from 
piles  of  downy  cushions  ;  from  great  platters  of 
biscuit,  a  part  as  white  as  dough,  others  crisp 
and  brown  ;  from  ruined  castles ;  from  orifices 
bordered  by  mighty,  parted,  Ethiopian  lips  of 
whitish  gray  tone  or  painted  red  and  brown. 
One  is  fashioned  like  an  old  time  conical  straw 
bee-hive.  So  well  is  the  model  copied,  that  no 
great  stretch  of  imagination  would  be  required 
to  enable  one  to  hear  the  buzz  of  busy 
honey  makers  swarming  aboiit  it.  Another 
is  a  rude  cabin  chimney  with  steam  lifting 
from  its  top,  in  lieu  of  smoke  curling 
from  a  woodman's  fire. 

He  approaches  one  which  might  once  have 
been  a  grotto,  with  stalagmites  and  stalactites 
forming  its  ribs  and  roof,  but  the  super- 
incumbent earth  having  been  removed,  the 
stony  skeleton  is  laid  bare,  partly  a  dozen 
or  more  feet  above  the  ground  and  partly 
sunken  below.  From  its  hollow  pit  comes  a 
roaring  sound  not  unlike  the  growl  of  a  lion 
when  feeding,  only  of  a  king  of  beasts  many 
fold  enlarged.  He  hears  close  by  it  a  noise  he 
takes  to  be  the  call  of  a  familiar  bird.  There  is 
no  bird  in  sight,  but  near  his  feet  in  the  rocky 
platform  is  a  small  vent  he  could  close  with  his 
thumb ;  it  is  breathing,  but  its  breath  is  high 
heated  steam  ;  its  inspiration  is  a  gentle  gurgle, 
its  expiration'is  the  blue  jay's  call. 


32  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Its  breath  comes  from  deep  below,  from  the 
lungs  of  the  monster  whose  stertorous  breathing 
is  an  indication  that  he  is  turning  over  in  his 
hidden  lair ;  and  as  he  turns  he  belches  forth  a 
mouthful  of  steam  and  water  through  the 
grotto.  He  has  evidently  eaten  something  dis- 
agreeable and  is  sick  in  the  regions  of  the  maw, 
for  up  comes  another  and  a  larger  mouthful ; 
and  then  another  and  more,  until  he  pours  out 
his  very  insides  in  tons  of  boiling  water. 
Through  every  opening  of  the  grotto's  frame, 
water  and  steam  rush  forth  in  mighty  volume. 
Thousands  of  gallons  to  the  minute  lift  in  jets 
ten  to  thirty  feet  through  each  opening,  and  run 
in  great  streams  to  the  crystal  river  a  little  way 
below.  The  monster  bellows,  the  vents  about 
the  grotto's  base  whistle,  the  water  splashes,  and 
the  steam  rushes,  scalding  hot.  After  a  while 
— perhaps  in  twenty  or  thirty  minutes — all  flow- 
ing ceases,  and  a  column  of  steam  pours  out  for 
perhaps  an  hour  and  lifts  several  hundred  feet 
into  the  air. 

"  THE   GIANT  "    IN    ACTION. 

While  this  strange  action  is  being  seen,  close 
by,  a  rumbling  noise  is  heard  in  the  depths  of 
u  The  Giant,"  200  or  300  yards  away.  The 
noise  increases,  not  unlike  that  of  an  approach- 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  33 

ing  railroad  train,  and  is  soon  accompanied  by  a 
discharge  of  water  three  or  more  feet  in  diameter 
at  the  geyser  nozzle,  lifted  in  an  almost  vertical 
column  150  to  200  feet  high,  all  enveloped  in  a 
veil  of  steam.  This  pours  through  the  top  of  a 
geyserite  formation  some  ten  feet  high,  and  a 
dozen  or  fifteen  from  out  to  out — a  monster 
stump,  broken  and  jagged  as  if  a  monarch  of 
the  forest  had  been  snapped  off  by  a  mighty 
storm  blast. 

The  flood  drops  all  about  in  spray,  veiling 
the  lifted  column,  and  is  of  such  quantity  that 
the  river  nearly  seventy-five  feet  wide,  is  doubled 
in  depth  when  the  monster  is  in  action. 

Our  accidental  red  tourist  has  lost  his 
Indian  stoicism,  and  wishes  to  see  something 
more  of  the  Devil's  doings.  The  "Giant"  having 
become  silent,  he  steals  along  the  white  forma- 
tion a  few  hundred  yards,  when,  from  a  small 
hole  in  the  ground,  without  any  warning,  up 
shoots  a  beautiful  little  geyser  about  twenty  feet 
high,  a  perfect  spreading  jet  d'eau,  accompanied 
by  no  steam  and  lasting  only  perhaps  a  quarter 
of  a  minute.  The  action  of  this  little  jet  over, 
every  drop  of  its  lifted  water  flows  back  into  its 
mouth  and  disappears  down  its  throat ;  but  not 
for  long,  for  it  again  shoots  up  in  four  minutes, 
and  is  so  regular  in  its  action,  that  it  has  been 
christened  "Young  Faithful." 


34  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

The  plateau  here  spoken  of — "The  upper  geyser 
basin" — is  two  or  more  miles  long  andof  irregular 
width,  probably  averaging  a  third  of  a  mile.  It 
is  all  white  with  encrusted  geyserite  deposit 
often  giving  out  a  hollow  sound  to  the  tread. 
This  deposit  varies  in  thickness  from  a  few 
inches  to  several  feet.  It  is  grayish  white, 
resembling  tarnished  frozen  snow. 

THE  SPLENDID — 2OO  FEET  HIGH. 

But  see  that  noble  column  spouting  200  feet 
high  in  a  somewhat  slanting  stream  not  far 
from  a  quarter  of  a  mile  away.  Close  by  a  smaller 
jet  shoots  obliquely,  mingling  its  spray  with  the 
larger  one.  The  tourist  is  too  far  removed  to 
see  the  brilliant  rainbow  formed  in  the  ming- 
ling spray.  But  let  him  wait  some  hours  and  he 
may  visit  it  again  to  witness  another  active  erup- 
tion from  the  "Splendid  Geyser,"  which  pours 
four  times  a  day  from  a  simple  hole  in  the  rock, 
and  has  as  yet  builded  himself  no  geyserite 
nozzle.  A  short  walk  brings  one  to  the 
"Devil's  Punch  Bowl,"  where  the  old  Fiend 
takes  his  nocturnal  nip,  from  a  basin  a  few  feet 
in  diameter,  inclosed  by  an  embossed  rim  a  foot 
high  and  as  regular  as  the  raised  edge  of  a 
Dresden  punch  bowl,  and  always  boiling  and 
seething  to  keep  the  tipple  hot  and  ready. 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  35 

In  this  plateau  are  hundreds  of  pools  of  exquis- 
ite colorings,  and  scores  of  geysers  lifting  more  or 
less  regularly  and  at  shorter  or  longer  intervals; 
some  of  the  intervals  being  of  hours,  others  of 
days  and  others  still  measured  only  by  minutes. 
The  geysers  are  all  named  in  accordance  with 
a  supposed  resemblance  of  their  formation  to 
some  known  thing,  or  to  the  character,  size  or 
quality  of  their  eruptions  ;  "The  Queen,"  "The 
King,"  "The  Bee-hive,"  "The  Castle,"  "The 
Princess,"  "Old  Faithful,"  "The  Excelsior," 
"The  Splendid"  and  so  on.  The  pools  take  their 
names  generally  from  the  colorings  of  their  rims 
or  sides,  or  of  the  water  held  in  them,  as  "The 
"Emerald,"  "The  Amethyst,"  "The  Sunset," 
"The  Rainbow"  and  "The  Morning  Glory." 
Some  of  the  pools  are  named  from  the  nature  of 
their  boilings,  others  from  the  rock  formation  in 
their  throats  and  about  their  sides;  "The 
Biscuit  Bowl,"  "The  Snow-ball,"  "The  Spouter." 
Many  of  the  names  are  by  no  means  far  fetched. 
The  "Biscuit  Bowl,"  for  example,  resembles  a 
mass  of  well  formed  monster  breakfast  rolls, 
some  in  whitened  dough,  others  in  all  stages  of 
brown  from  the  half  done  to  the  well  baked. 

The  tourist  approaches  a  flattened  cone,  with  a 
base  600  or  800  feet  in  circumference,  and  fifty  feet 
high,  surmounted  by  the  ruins  of  an  old  castle. 
The  owner  of  the"  Castle"  has  been  growlingall  day 


36  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  emiting  an  tinsual  amount  of  steam.  He  is 
evidently  preparing  to  erupt,  which  he  does  at 
intervals  of  several  days.  His  terrific  growlings 
increase  as  the  day  wears  on,  and  angry  spurts 
of  boiling  water  accompanied  by  steam  show  he 
is  getting  his  temper  up  to  white  heat.  He  has 
been  quiet  for  an  unusual  time  of  late  and  when 
aroused,  like  Othello,  he  will  be  fearfully  moved. 
He  makes  a  few  angry  premonitory  belches  and 
bellows.  The  noise  is  accompanied  by  a  tremb- 
ling of  the  earth  for  hundreds  of  yards.  A  mass 
of  water  is  then  ejected  from  50  to  100  feet  up, 
mixed  with  steam  in  dense  mass.  The  flow  of 
water  is  of  short  duration;  but  is  of  thousands  of 
tons,  and  is  followed  by  an  emission  of  steam 
large  enough  to  run  an  ocean  steamer.  This 
steam  escape  can  be  heard  for  a  mile  or  more,  and 
sounds  like  the  roar  made  by  a  Long  Island  Sound 
steamer  blowing  salt  from  its  boilers.  The  noise 
is  continuous  for  an  hour ;  it  gradually  lessens, 
however,  until  it  ceases  entirely.  Steam  is  then 
lazily  emitted  continuously,  and  a  loud  gurgling 
noise  is  constant  deep  down  in  the  Geyser  throat. 
This  is  more  or  less  the  case  with  nearly  all  of 
the  geysers.  A  few,  however,  become  so  quiet, 
that  very  close  attention  is  necessary  to  catch 
any  boiling  noise.  The  "Castle"  geyser  blows 
off  for  hours  before  his  steam  generators  are 
cleaned. 


YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL    PARK.  37 

IT  SCARES  THE  WHITE  MAN. 

Our  red  cheeked  tourist  has  stoicism,  but  he 
cannot  stay  over  this  Devil's  kitchen  long  enough 
to  see  half  of  the  mighty  vents  in  action.  One, 
which  but  rarely  plays,  shakes  the  very  earth. 
A  good  white  man,  who  flatters  himself  that  he 
is  a  child  of  God  and  believes  in  sovereign  reign- 
ing grace,  is  struck  by  it  with  awe  akin  to  terror. 

But  there  is  one  geyser  which  becomes  famil- 
iar to  the  civilized  tourist  and  seems  to  win  from 
him  a  sort  of  affection,  because  of  his  consci- 
entious behavior.  His  very  regularity,  however, 
would  strike  the  more  terror  into  the  heart  of 
the  untutored  red  man.  He  has  built  his  home 
under  a  mound  300  yards  in  circumference  and 
twenty  or  so  feet  high  at  its  apex,  upon  which  he 
has  cast  a  geyserite  chimney  ten  to  fifteen  feet 
high  and  six  or  eight  in  diameter.  This  chimney 
he  has  ornamented  within  and  without  with 
huge  tufted  beads,  and  painted  those  within 
with  rose  and  white,  orange  and  brown,  red  and 
grey.  These  adjuncts,  however,  do  not  compare 
to  those  of  many  others,  for  some  of  them  seem 
to  have  wrapped  their  throats  in  great  pillows, 
hard  as  gypsum,  but  looking  as  soft  and  tufty 
as  if  made  of  swans  down,  while  others  have 
painted  their  inside  linings  with  all  the  tints  of 
the  rainbow;  and  their  crystal  clear  water  seems 
to  have  caught  the  cerulean  blue  from  the  heav- 
ens and  are  holding  it  in  solution. 


38  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

But  to  return  to  this  geyser;  for  nearly  an  hour 
he  has  been  as  quiet  as  a  lamb,  just  enough  of 
steam  arising  from  his  throat  to  show  he  is  gent- 
ly breathing.  The  steam  breath  gradually 
grows  and  is  exhaled  with  more  vigor.  Present- 
ly he  belches  up  a  barrel  or  so  of  water  which 
falls  back  into  his  throat.  Then  in  a  minute 
come  two  or  three  such  little  spasms,  when  up 
lifts  a  rounded  column  two  or  three  feet  in  diam- 
eter, rising  higher  and  higher  in  exact  perpen- 
dicularity 150  feet  high.  The  jet  breaks  more 
or  less  as  it  rises  into  pointed  sprays,  which, 
when  there  is  no  wind  blowing,  fall  with  almost 
precise  regularity  about  the  up  going  column. 

WATCHES   ARE  SET  BY  IT. 

In  about  five  minutes  the  jet  of  water  ceases, 
but  is  followed  by  considerable  steam  emis- 
sions for  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  when  one  can 
look  down  into  his  throat  and  see  the  crystal 
water  ten  to  fifteen  feet  below  the  apex,  and  all 
quiet  and  still.  So  regular  is  the  action  of  this 
geyser  that  one  could,  by  watching  it,  almost 
dispense  with  a  watch.  He  never  plays  in  less 
than  sixty-three  minutes,  and  never  delays  ac- 
tion longer  than  seventy.  Indeed,  some  of  his 
most  constant  admirers  declare  these  variations 
are  the  fault  of  watches,  not  of  u  Old  Faithful." 
Thus  he  is  named,  and  as  such  is  known  far 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  39 

and  near.  There  are  several  of  these  geyser- 
basins  scattered  over  the  park  from  ten  to  twenty- 
five  miles  apart,  the  principal  ones  being  the  "Nor- 
ris,"  the  "  Lower  Geyser  Basin"  and  the  "  Up- 
per Geyser  Basin."  These  are  reached  in  suc- 
cession on  the  tonrist  road  from  u  Mammoth 
Hot  Springs." 

The  regular  tourist,  starting  from  Mammoth 
Hotel,  dines  at  the  u  Norris  "  and  sleeps  at  the 
u  Lower  Basin."  The  next  day,  if  he  prefers  to 
go  on  with  his  coach,  he  passes  the  u  Excelsior," 
which  is  the  hugest  of  all  the  geysers,  and  has 
been  for  two  or  three  years  nearly  quiet,  but 
this  year  is  in  tolerable  eruption.  It  is  a  vast 
pool,  possibly  over  two  hundred  feet  in  diameter. 
When  quiet,  water  about  twenty  feet  below  the 
pool  rim  boils,  seethes  and  tosses  in  horrible  mo- 
tion. It  erupted  just  as  our  party  reached  it, 
but  not  in  one  of  its  grand  actions.  A  mass  of 
water  possibly  many  feet  in  diameter  was  lifted 
fifty  or  more  feet  in  the  air.  It  is  said  that  when 
in  full  eruption  the  height  of  the  column  is  from 
two  to  three  hundred  feet.  This  I  doubt.  The 
mass  of  steam  enveloping  the  jet  is  so  great  that 
the  water  column  is  entirely  hidden,  and  has 
given  rise  to  exaggeration  on  the  part  of  those 
who  have  seen  it  at  its  best.  The  basin  of  the 
Excelsior  is  called  "  Hell's  half  acre,"  and  it  is 
by  no  means  a  misnomer,  for  the  earth  trembles, 


40  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  the  roar  when  the  geyser  is  in  action  is  that 
of  an  earthquake,  while  great  stones  are  scattered 
about  for  several  hundred  feet.  Close  by  it  are 
the  "  Prismatic  Springs  "  and  the  u  Turquoise." 
The  first  is  two  or  more  hundred  feet  in  diame- 
ter and  is  a  placid  mass  of  scalding  water.  It 
has  various  depths  ;  in  the  center  where  very 
deep,  it  is  of  an  indigo  blue  which  shades  off 
into  a  bluish  green ;  then  where  very  shallow, 
it  runs  off  into  yellow,  orange,  red  and  brown, 
while  some  circles  are  white.  It  is  a  marvel  of 
beauty.  The  color  of  the  Turquoise  is  precisely 
described  by  its  name. 

The  whole  park  plateau  is  filled  with  hot 
springs,  which  are  building  up  elevations 
with  their  deposit  and  mounting  them  as  they 
build.  The  water  is  all  clear  as  crystal,  but 
holds  in  solution  lime,  iron,  sulphur  and  other 
minerals,  which  it  deposits  sufficiently  fast  to 
encrust  a  key,  horseshoe,  or  other  piece  of  metal 
in  three  or  four  days  with  a  solid  enamel — say 
the  sixteenth  of  an  inch  in  thickness — and  of 
the  appearance  of  second-class  white  sugar. 

The  geysers  eject,  when  in  action,  large 
quantities  of  water,  but  the  springs,  though 
boiling  and  spouting,  and  appearing  to  be  lifting 
much  water,  flow  over  their  rims  in  very  small 
streams.  As  they  flow  they  build  up  their  mar- 
gins, which  are  thus  made  almost  exactly  level. 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  41 

This  gentle  flow  runs  off  in  wavy  ripples  gener- 
ally; not  in  little  rivulets,  but  in  thin  sheets,  de- 
positing the  solid  matter  they  have  held  in  solu- 
tion while  below,  which  is  freed  by  the  action  of 
the  atmosphere.  In  this  way  the  springs  lift 
themselves,  and  build  lofty  hills.  The  deposit 
when  fresh  is  hard,  but  when  dry  becomes  gen- 
erally friable,  though  there  are  cases  where  it 
maintains  great  hardness.  These  deposits  often 
times  wear  beautiful  colors,  and  nearly  always 
do  so  when  being  made  or  while  under  water. 
Some  of  the  quiet  pools  are  over  100  feet  in  di- 
ameter. The  outer  edges  when  shallow  are  of  a 
deep  brown,  followed  by  a  lighter  brown  or  red, 
then  blending  into  a  yellow  and  followed  by  a 
yellow  olive,  and  deepening  as  they  sink  into 
dark  olive,  while  in  the  deep  throats  they  are  al- 
most black.  The  water  before  it  makes  the 
deepest  point,  in  some  is  of  emerald  greenness, 
in  others  of  exquisite  blue ;  along  the  steep  slop- 
ing walls  assuming  a  rich  amethyst  or  tinted  in 
exquisite  sapphire. 

All  deposits  take  either  a  wavy  or  a  tufted 
form,  whether  on  gentle  slopes  or  on  perpendic- 
ular walls.  Some  steep  walls  are  not  unlike 
slightly  tufted  fleeces  of  wool.  The  tufts  are  of 
all  sizes,  from  that  of  an  orange  up  to  others  as 
large  as  a  bushel  basket.  One  can  scarcely 
realize  that  these  tufts  are  hard.  They  appear 


42  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

beneath  the  water  to  be  as  light  and  soft  as 
newly  fallen  snow  upon  an  evergreen  bush. 
Some  of  them  are  creamy  white,  others  yellow, 
orange  and  all  shades  of  brown.  In  one  of  the 
Geyser  basins  is  a  large  pool  actually  used  by 
the  hotel  people  as  a  laundry  tub.  If  you  will 
promise  not  to  mention  it  I  will  confess  two  evi- 
dences on  my  part  of  weakness.  I  always  shed 
tears  at  the  theatres,  and  I  washed  some  hand- 
kerchiefs in  this  boiling  pool  and  they  came 
out  nicely  white. 


NATURE'S  PAINT-POTS. 


To  many,  the  paint-pots  at  the  "  Lower 
Basin  "  are  the  most  curious  things  seen  in  the 
park.  Imagine  somewhat  rounded  pits  of  all 
sizes  from  those  a  few  inches  in  diameter  to 
others  of  forty  and  even  sixty  feet  across,  filled 
with  fine  white  mud  or  mortar,  such  as  plaster- 
ers call  putty,  and  used  by  them  for  hard  finish. 
This  is  boiling  and  plopping  (I  coin  this  word) 
like  mush  in  huge  pots,  or  thick  soap  in  mighty 
caldrons.  In  boiling,  the  big  bubbles  lazily  lift 
several  inches  high,  and  more  lazily  burst  with 
a  mufHed  noise,  and  sputter  dabs  of  thick  paste 
several  feet  into  the  air.  Falling  upon  the  rim 
of  the  pool,  these  erect  a  wall — now  smooth  as  a 
plastered  wall — and  then  in  rough  grotesque 
finish.  No  mortar  made  up  for  a  first-class  plas- 


YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL   PARK.  43 

ter  finish  was  ever  tempered  as  is  this  natural 
paste.  When  dry  and  pulverized  it  is  an  almost 
impalpable  powder.  The  paste  is  sometimes 
white,  but  more  often  is  of  a  pale  scotch  gray. 
One  large  pool  is  half  white  or  whitish  grey, 
the  other  half  of  a  delicate  peach  blow.  In  one 
pot  the  putty  was  a  pretty  pink  salmon.  Put- 
ting these  three  colors  on  a  cardboard  to  dry,  I 
found  that  much  of  the  coloring  disappeared 
after  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  At  one  basin 
between  the  Yellowstone  canyon  and  the  great 
Yellowstone  Lake,  the  mortar  is  of  dark  mud, 
pure  and  simple,  and  is  lifted  many  feet  in  the 
air,  and  falling,  is  sucked  back  into  a  monster 
throat  with  horrible  gurgling  sound.  Go  to  a 
slaughter  house  to  see  a  stuck  pig  breathing  his 
last.  Multiply  his  agonizing  throes  several  hun- 
dred fold  and  a  good  idea  can  be  had  of  the 
struggle  of  these  hidden  monsters.  One  of  the 
mud  geysers  is  said  at  times  to  be  so  violent  in 
its  action,  that  the  earth  trembles  for  a  very 
considerable  distance,  when  the  monster  is  in 
full  eruption.  Curiously  there  will  sometimes 
be  found  a  pool  of  crystal  pure  water  boiling  or 
spouting  not  many  feet  away,  and  in  one  in- 
stance, close  to  a  mud  boiling  pool  is  a  large 
spring  of  pure  cold  water.  One  is  tempted  to 
wish  to  turn  one  of  these  into  the  mouth  of  the 
mud  geyser  to  wash  down  its  throat  and  ease  its 


44  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

agony.  Neither  the  mud  nor  the  white  mortar  in 
these  craters  overflow,  but  bubble,  sputter, 
and  plop  year  after  year.  The  particles  are  as 
impalpable  as  the  fine  ground  paint  upon  an 
artist's  easel. 

All  kinds  of  pools,  geysers  and  paint-pots  are 
heated  more  or  less  highly,  all  of  them  nearly 
up  to,  and  some  much  above  boiling  point.  The 
heating  is  not  from  the  visible  water  being  near 
to  any  fire  or  heated  surface,  but  from  super- 
heated steam,  generated  far  below,  being  forced 
through  the  surface  water.  Sometimes  only 
steam  escapes  through  the  surface  orifices. 
These  are  called  vents.  The  steam  coining 
from  some  of  these  is  so  hot  that  the  skin  would 
be  taken  from  the  hand  by  a  single  instant- 
aneous application.  They  seem  to  be  a  sort  of 
safety  valves  from  the  great  steam  generators  in 
the  bowels  of  the  earth.  No  wonder  the  Indian 
gives  this  country  a  clear  berth,  or  that  a  good 
schoolmarm  tourist  constantly  had  on  her  lips 
Hades!  Hades!!  Hades!!!  To  be  candid,  I 
think  she  used  the  old  fashioned  word. 


LETTER  III. 

MAMMOTH  HOT  SPRINGS.  A  WONDERFUL  FOR- 
MATION. THE  WHITE  ELEPHANT.  A  THEORY 
ACCOUNTING  FOR  THE  HOT  SPRINGS  AND 
GEYSERS.  MUD  GEYSERS.  MARVELOUS  COL- 
ORINGS OF  SOME  POOLS. 

The  tourist  entering  the  National  Park  by 
way  of  Livingston  through  the  Gardner  Canyon, 
and  rocky  Gateway,  at  about  sixty  miles  reaches 
the  "Mammoth  Hot  Springs".  Here  he  sees  a 
surprising  formation.  Before  him  rises  in  ter- 
races each  from  twenty  to  thirty  feet  high,  a 
great  white  cataract  looking  mass,  several  hun- 
dred feet  high,  bulging  out  into  the  valley.  The 
center  projects  with  rounded  contour  far  beyond 
the  wings,  which  recede  on  either  side,  and  to  be 
seen  must  be  skirted.  The  entire  bent  crest  is 
not  far  from  three  miles  in  length.  When  first 
approached,  it  strikes  the  eye  as  a  succession 
of  water  falls  tumbling  from  terrace  to  ter- 
race. To  a  second  glance  it  appears  a  system 
of  falls  one  above  the  other  hardened  into 
dirty  ice.  To  one  who  has  visited  lofty  snow  clad 
mountains,  an  act  of  deliberation  is  required  to 
prevent  him  believing  that  the  terraces  are  a 
part  of  a  glacier  of  more  or  less  purity. 

The  crests  of  the  different  terraces  are  almost 
level — some  of  them  apparently  exactly  so.  They 
are  built  by  water,  and,  water  here  levels  as  it 

45 


46  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

builds,  for  if  there  be  a  depression  it  seeks  it, 
and  depositing  the  solid  matter  held  in  solution, 
levels  it  up  with  the  rest.  From  the  crest  of  the 
upper  terrace  runs  back  a  plateau  of  silicious 
incrustation  covering  300  to  400  acres.  Scat- 
tered over  this,  are  shallow  pools  of  hot  water  of 
a  bluish  white  tinge.  About  their  shallow  sides 
these  pools  have  concentric,  tinted  borders,  some 
a  few  inches  wide,  others  of  one  or  two  feet. 
These  are  bent  to  conform  to  the  irregular  shape 
of  the  pools,  one  within  the  other,  and  are  several 
deep.  The  borders  differ  from  each  other  in 
color,  being  red,  orange,  yellow  and  brown  and 
of  intermediate  shades. 

Near  the  front  bulge  of  the  upper  terrace,  lifts 
the  principal  spring  or  pool  on  its  individual 
terrace,  high  above  the  main  plateau.  It  looks 
like  a  turret  when  seen  from  below.  Flowing  in 
thin  sheets  over  the  margin,  sometimes  a  simple 
ooze,  the  water  from  each  pool  makes  a  deposit 
as  it  spreads  over  the  surrounding  surface.  At 
the  foot  and  in  front  of  the  great  precipice,  stand 
two  isolated  slender  pillars  of  geyserite,  one  of 
them  about  forty  feet  high.  They  are  hollow 
and  are  the  cones  or  nozzles  of  extinct  geysers. 
One  is  called  the  "Liberty  Cap"  the  other  the 
"Devil's  Thumb."  They  lift  sheer  up  from  the 
level  in  front  of  the  great  formation,  and  are  a 
sort  of  sentinels  keeping  watch  and  ward  over 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  47 

the  wonderful  picture.  A  large  part  of  the  pre- 
cipitous projection  of  each  terrace  is  moist  from 
slowly  trickling  water. 

At  the  rear  of  the  great  plateau  half  hidden 
among  scattered  trees,  is  a  long  fissure  in  the 
solid  rock  foundation  of  the  mountain  slope. 
Through  this  has  poured  up  hot  water  from 
below,  building,  as  it  flowed,  a  huge  white  forma- 
tion two  to  three  hundred  feet  long,  ten  to  fifteen 
feet  high,  and  about  as  broad,  rounded  and 
smooth  on  its  crest.  This  is  supposed  to  resemble 
an  elephant  in  recumbent  position  and  has  been 
aptly  named  "The  White  Elephant."  If  one 
pauses  to  listen,  he  will  hear  a  gurgling  of  run- 
ning water  down  in  the  leviathan's  inside,  not 
unlike  that  made  when  its  living  namesake 
pours  a  draught  of  water  from  his  trunk  down 
into  his  throat.  Here,  as  everywhere  else  in 
active  spring  formations,  the  sound  of  running 
water  can  be  heard  beneath  the  surface  incrus- 
tation. In  some  instances  the  ear  must  be  bent 
down  to  catch  a  gentle  rippling ;  in  others  it 
deepens  into  a  hoarse  gurgle. 

The  silicious  crest  of  all  of  the  plateaux 
on  which  a  person  walks,  gives  out  so  hollow 
a  sound,  that  one  is  apt  to  feel  somewhat 
anxious  lest  it  break  beneath  his  weight.  I  sus- 
pect, however,  if  it  should  do  so,  the  bottom 
would  be  found  generally  at  only  a  few  inches, 


48  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  a  crimped  shoe  would  be  the  most  injurious 
result.  Occasionally,  however,  the  crest  may 
cover  a  deep  pool,  but  not  often.  When  a  pool 
is  very  still  a  film  of  solid  matter  spreads  over 
its  margin  as  grease  does  over  cool  water.  This 
attaches  itself  to  the  edge  and  spreads  towards 
the  center.  Gentle  ripples  then  overflow  this  but 
do  not  break  it  down,  but  thicken  it  by  further 
deposits.  Sometimes  one  sees  these  edges  pro- 
jecting well  over  a  deep  pool,  and  strong  enough 
to  bear  up  the  weight  of  several  men  ;  some  of 
these  may  at  some  time  be  the  cause  of  very 
scalding  accidents.  The  principal  danger,  how- 
ever, to  a  moderately  prudent  tourist  is  to  his 
shoe  leather.  One  frequently  steps  into  a  little 
puddle  after  a  geyser  ceases  to  act,  or  walks  into 
a  thin  sheet  to  see  more  closely  the  coloring  of  a 
pool.  Bither  of  such  imprudences  may  cost  a 
pair  of  good  shoes.  The  safest  course  is  to  wear 
old  ones  for  a  ramble  and  to  keep  a  good  dry 
pair  at  the  hotel. 

THEORIES   ABOUT   THE   FORMATIONS. 

It  may  not  be  amiss  to  suggest  some  solution 
of  the  problems  under  which  the  silicious  in- 
crustations are  produced  and  the  active  geysers 
act. 

The  entire  Yellowstone  Park  is  an  elevated 
plateau  thrown  up  by  volcanic  eruption,  or  more 


YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL    PARK.  49 

probably  was  left  when  the  plains  sank  beneath 
the  ocean,  leaving  the  crumpled  back  bone  of 
the  continent  pushed  far  above.  The  rocky  ribs 
of  earth  were  pitched  here  into  a  more  or  less 
vertical  position,  leaving  seams  and  fissures  run- 
ning deep  down  into  the  bowels  of  the  earth  in 
the  neighborhood  of  intense  internal  fires.  Vol- 
canic "forces  have  left  their  marks  throughout 
the  Park.  The  hot  springs  and  geysers  are 
their  feeble  remnants. 

On  the  mountain  heights,  melting  snows  and 
rains  fill  great  lakes  and  copious  flowing  rivers. 
These  send  veins  more  or  less  large,  or  percolate 
down  into  the  earth  crust,  supplying  the  intensely 
heated  rocks  with  moisture  for  a  vast  volume  of 
super-heated  steam.  The  steam  seeks  an  outlet 
through  fissures  made  in  the  plutonic  rocks  by 
volcanic  forces  and  through  seams  in  the  upper 
crumpled  and  pitched  stratified  formations.  Pass- 
ing through  these  latter  this  intensively  heated 
steam  erodes  the  softer  rocks  into  throats,  re- 
cesses and  pockets,  and  taking  up  minerals  in 
chenficals  solution  bears  them  upward,  meeting 
the  cooler  crust  and  mingling  with  percolations 
from  melting  snows  and  rains,  it  becomes  more 
or  less  condensed  and  pours  out  in  small  springs. 
These  as  they  now,  deposit  the  silicious  and 
other  mineral  matter  held  in  solution,  building 
up  the  lower  side  of  the  spring,  until  the  rim  is 


50  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

level.     Thus  the  spring  becomes  a  more  or  less 
rounded  pool. 

The  over  flow  now  becomes  very  gentle 
and  even  over  the  entire  rim.  The  atmos- 
phere reaches  the  whole  of  the  overflow  as 
it  spreads  over  the  surface  of  the  ground  and 
causes  rapid  precipitation.  The  constant  out- 
pour causes  a  constant  lifting  of  the  pool  and  of 
the  incrustations  about  it.  This  spreading  crust 
is  in  laminae  or  thin  sheets.  As  the  pool  rim 
lifts,  the  weight  of  the  column  of  water  forces 
some  of  it  between  the  sheets  and  carries  it  hot 
and  rich  in  mineral  and  earthy  solid  matter  to 
the  outer  edges  of  the  formation,  where  it  escapes 
to  spread  the  incrustation  wider  and  wider. 
The  streams  beneath  the  crust  gradually  wear 
away  their  channels  leaving  open  spaces  above 
them,  which  give  out  a  hollow  sound  when  one 
walks  over  them,  and  in  them  the  rippling  or 
gurgling  of  flowing  water  is  to  be  heard  more  or 
less,  beneath  the  crust. 

When  such  underflowing  streams  cut  a 
large  enough  channel,  they  frequently  b'uild 
up  new  small  pools  more  or  less  removed 
from  the  parent  spring.  In  other  words  one 
vein  of  hot  water  coming  from  below  may 
be  the  source  of  several  pools.  Yet  there 
are  many  only  a  few  yards  apart,  which  have 
sources  far  removed  from  each  other,  or  at  least 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  5! 

the  steam  which,  supplies  them  with  their  heat 
and  solid  matter  in  solution,  has  passed  through 
widely  different  and  distant  rock  formations. 
This  is  shown  by  the  different  and  distinct  min- 
erals which  color  the  water  and  the  formations 
deposited  by  them. 

The  water  in  one  pool  will  be  compara- 
tively pure,  while  close  by,  is  that  of  an- 
other strongly  impregnated  with  sulphur,  depos- 
iting great  tufts  in  yellow  and  brown,  and  still 
another  with  red  borders  and  olive  throat  full  of 
oxide  of  iron.  Here  will  be  a  pool  beautifully 
green,  with  exquisitely  tinted  formations,  prov- 
ing that  copper  or  arsenic  are  held  in  solution  ; 
and  then  within  a  half  stone's  throw  is  still  an- 
other of  intense  cerulean  blue  and  a  third  of 
most  delicate  sapphire. 

In  one  of  the  paint  pots,  in  the  "Lower  basin" 
not  over  forty  feet  in  diameter,  about  half  of  the 
putty  is  pearl  gray,  while  the  other  half  is  a 
rich  peach  blow.  I  said  that  the  overflow  of  the 
pools  was  generally  small.  I  recall  several  small 
ones  and  a  few  fully  thirty  or  more  feet  in  dia- 
meter, from  which  the  overflow  in  a  calm  day 
was  almost  uniform  from  the  entire  veins,  and 
nowhere  thicker  than  a  very  thin  sheet  of  glass. 
And  in  some  instances  the  out  put  was  so  thin  as 
to  be  a  simple  ooze.  And  yet  in  many  of  such 
pools  the  boiling  action  in  the  centre  was  great 


52  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

enough  to  lift  bubbles  and  turbulations  many 
inches  high.  In  one  pool  called  the  "Spouter" 
there  are  constant  large  jets  lifting  from  a  few 
inches  up  to  three  or  more  feet,  a  wild  fearful 
boiling  and  still  only  a  small  stream  ran  from  it. 
And  still  others  which  boiled  furiously  but  had  no 
outflow  at  all.  It  is  not  improbable  that  from 
these  latter  there  are  water  exists  below  the 
crusts,  which  have  been  lifted  up  as  rims  or  pool 
margins.  The  bubbles  and  turbulations  are  not 
strictly  speaking  from  boiling  hot  water,  but 
from  steam  rushing  up  and  striving  to  escape. 

MARVELOUS   COLORINGS. 

No  ordinary  stretch  of  imagination  will  enable 
one  who  has  not  seen  them  to  realize  the  variety 
and  exquisiteness  of  the  tints  and  colorings  of 
many  of  the  pools.  The  caves  of  Capri  near 
Naples,  furnish  not  a  more  wondrous  blue,  and 
the  grottoes  of  tropical  seas  do  not  afford  such 
variety.  The  tints  are  partly  derived  from  the 
minerals  held  in  solution  by  the  water,  but  are 
probably  owing  more  to  the  reflected  tones  of  the 
geyserite  formation  surrounding  the  throats, 
walls  and  margins. 

One  can  easily  understand  the  solution  of 
the  problem  resulting  in  the  formation  and 
actions  of  the  pools,  and  of  the  building  of 
the  encrustations  of  the  plateaux,  which 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL    PARK.  53 

extend  over  hundreds  of  acres.  But  the  actions 
of  geysers  are  so  weird  and  strange  that 
science  has  probably  not  fully  explained  them. 
I  confes3  myself  too  much  of  a  tyro  to  fully 
comprehend  the  more  scientific  elucidation, 
which  explains  the  action  on  chemical  prin- 
ciples. I  can,  however,  comprehend  the  more 
practical  but  possibly  less  scientific  theory, 
which  is  sufficient  for  me  and  will  probably  also 
be  so  for  the  majority  of  my  readers.  The  pools 
and  hot  springs  are  formed  at  all  elevations  in 
the  valleys  and  on  mountain  slopes. 

THEORIES    AS   TO   GEYSER   ACTION. 

The  Geysers  are  always  in  the  valleys  and 
generally  contiguous  to  the  lowest  points.  When 
lifted  up  they  are  probably  so  raised  by  their 
own  energies  as  builders. 

On  the  following  page  is  a  cut  showing  a  sec- 
tion of  the  earth  crust,  running  across  a  valley 
and  up  the  mountain  side.  Along  its  lowest 
point  flows  rapidly  a  stream  of  cold  clear  water 
fed  by  melting  snows  and  dews  on  mountains 
towering  above  and  more  or  less  distant. 

"£"  is  a  geyser  cone.  Below  is  the  geyser 
throat  or  well  sinking  down  to  "  W\ 

"S"  is  a  shaft  more  or  less  vertical  opening 
into  the  geyser  well  and  running  far  down  into 
the  softer  rocks  to  UC"  a  somewhat  horizontal 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  55 

continuation  leading  into  "R"  a  recess  or  pocket 
in  the  softer  upper  rocks  of  sufficient  capacity 
in  some  cases  to  hold  hundreds  or  thousands  of 
tons  of  water. 

"P"  is  another  recess  opening  into  u^"  near 
its  apex.  These  recesses  or  pockets  have  been 
scooped  out  by  superheated  steam  pouring  up 
from  far  below  through  plutonic  rocks  contiguous 
to  living  central  fires.  Such  steam  is  generated 
from  veins  and  percolations  of  water  always 
sinking  from  the  earth's  surface  and  from 
moisture  believed  to  exist  in  or  about  all  rocks. 

"/}"  " '/?"  and  u/9"  are  reservoirs  on  the  sur- 
face of  the  earth  or  beneath  it  high  up  on  the 
mountains,  perennially  supplied  by  rains  and 
melting  snows. 

a  y»  u  y»  u  y»  are  yeins  through  which  water 

flows  from  reservoirs  "/?"  "Z?"  "£>"  into  recess 
uj?"  at  "X".  These  veins  are  also  fed  by  per- 
colations throughout  the  formations  through 
which  they  run.  "7^"  "/7»  are  fissures  or  seams 
in  the  upper  rocks  running  into  and  extending 
deep  down  in  the  primative  or  igneus  rocks 
below,  along  which  highly  heated  steam  gen- 
erated near  the  internal  fires  underlying  earth's 
solid  crust,  rushes  upward  into  recess  or  pocket 
"P".  We  will  assume  that  there  are  no  veins 
conveying  cold  water  into  this  latter  recess  or 
pocket. 


56  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Now  we  assume  also  that  at  a  given  moment 
recesses  "/?"  and  "/>"  and  shaft  "S"  and  its 
continuation  "C"  are  free  or  nearly  free  of  water. 
Steam,  however,  is  rushing  from  them  and  out 
of  geyser  "61"  in  hot,  roaring  volume.  In  recess 
u/v"  it  is  encountering  cold  water  flowing  .in  at 
UJ\""  and  rapidly  loses  its  high  temperature  and 
is  being  condensed.  As  such  condensation  goes 
on,  the  horizontal'  continuation  UC"  is  being 
filled.  As  it  fills  the  escape  of  steam  at  "£"  les- 
sens rapidly,  until  continuation  "C'  becoming 
full  of  water,  it  ceases  entirely  or  only  a  small 
amount  lifts  lazily  up  from  the  hot  shaft  "S". 
The  inflow  at  "X"  and  condensation  fills  recess 
UR"  with  water  more  or  less  cool.  The  steam 
coming  up  through  "T7",  "/^"  no  longer  having 
an  escape,  heats  the  water  in  "A"'  until  it  reaches 
a  line  u£"  in  recess  "7?,"  where  it  becomes 
so  hot  as  no  longer  to  condense  steam  or  does  it 
to  a  very  small  extent.  The  pressure  of  the 
high  heated  steam  now  stops  a  further  inflow  at 
"X"  and  forces  the  water  upward  into  shaft  ">S" 
and  is  capable  of  sustaining  the  column  at  the 
geyser  throat  "£F"  and  the  column  in  veins 
UF:)  at  a  like  height.  Condensation  having 
ceased  the  steam  in  u^"  above  UZ"  and  in  "P" 
becomes  superheated  and  acquires  enormous  ex- 
pansive power.  Finally  its  energy  is  so  vast 
that  a  sudden  expansion  or  explosion  takes 


YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL    TARK.  57 

place.  The  water  at  "Z"  is  pressed  enormously 
downward  and  the  contents  of  recess  ".#"  are 
forced  upward  through  shaft  "S"  into  the  geyser 
well  and  then  through  the  contracted  nozzle  at 
"£"  in  a  mighty  jet  high  into  the  open  air.  The 
action  of  suddenly  expanded  or  exploded  steam 
is  spasmodic  and  immediate.  All  of  the  water  in 
recess  "7?"  is  therefore  rapidly  thrown  out  at  "G". 
The  water  gone,  fearfully  hot  steam  follows  it 
through  "£r"  until  its  spasmodic  energy  ceases 
almost  if  not  quite  as  suddenly  as  it  was  at  first 
aroused.  Immediately  the  steam,  now  coming 
from  recess  UR"  begins  to  go  through  the  cooling 
process  before  described,  until  again  the  shaft  is 
closed  at  UC"  and  again  a  repetition  of  the  erup- 
tion is  brought  about. 

This  series  of  actions  is  more  or  less  regular  in 
all  geysers.  In  old  "Faithful"  the  round  is  com- 
pleted in  about  sixty-three  minutes.  The  recesses 
or  pockets  are  of  various  sizes  in  different  geysers 
requiring  different  periods  of  time  to  be  filled. 
The  time  taken  to  empty  them,  and  in  some  meas- 
ure the  height  of  the  jets  depend  probably  very 
largely  upon  the  size  of  the  throat  and  of  the  noz- 
zle of  the  geysers.  "Old  Faithful"  has  a  compara- 
tively small  nozzle.  His  jet  continues  for  several 
minutes  and  mounts  to  a  great  height.  The 
same  is  true  of  the  "Splendid."  The  Castle 
spurts  up  a  very  much  larger  volume  of  water ; 


58  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

but  not  nearly  so  high,  from  a  huge  throat  and 
in  very  much  less  time.  The  "Excelsior"  has  a 
throat  many  feet  in  diameter,  and  ejects  a 
column  proportionately  large.  Its  actions  are 
not  regular  and  indeed  it  is  rather  a  water  vol- 
cano than  a  geyser,  throwing  up  large  stones 
and  gravel. 

" Young  Faithful"  emits  no  steam.  It  is 
probably  only  a  sort  of  adjunct  of  some  of  the 
violently  boiling  pocrls  near  by.  Steam,  which 
in  some  of  these  cause  violent  turbulations 
at  regular  intervals,  forces  water  through 
lateral  shafts  up  through  this  little  gem.  Its 
throat  is  very  small.  A  considerable  body  of 
water  passing  from  behind  with  only  a  moderate 
force,  yet  finding  only  the  small  throat,  makes 
a  jet  of  considerable  height.  Jets  resembling  it 
are  frequently  seen  on  low  rocky  cliffs  on  the 
sea  shore,  caused  by  the  ocean  swell  passing  into 
grottoes  and  caverns  and  forcing  water  up  along 
small  fissures  through  the  overhanging  rock, 
called  "puffing  holes".  The  foregoing  theory 
of  geyser  action  may  not  bear  the  test  of  close 
criticism,  but  it  is  probable  that  such  criticism 
may  be  answered  by  hypotheses  not  here  alluded 
to.  At  all  events  it  may  be  sufficiently  satisfac- 
tory for  the  ordinary  mind. 


LETTER  iv. 

HOW  TO  DO  THE  PARK.  HOTELS  AND  VEHICLES. 
MY  INNOCENTS.  CHARMING  SCENERY.  NAT- 
URAL MEADOWS.  WILD  ANIMALS.  BEAUTI- 
FUL BLOWERS.  DEBTS  TO  THE  DEVIL.  CAMP 
LIFE  AND  FISHING.  WONDERFUL  CANYON. 
PAINTED  ROCKS.  GLORIOUS  WATERFALLS. 
NATURE  GROTESQUE  AND  BEAUTIFUL. 

GRAND  CANYON, 
YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK,  July  24,  1890. 

I  will  say  at  the  beginning  of  this  letter,  a 
few  words  as  to  how  the  Park's  wonders  can  be 
seen.  There  are  associations  under  leases  from 
the  Government  and  supposed  to  be  under  its 
control,  which  regulate  the  movements  of  reg- 
ular tourists,  in  and  through  the  park ;  one  for 
transportation  alone,  and  the  other  for  feeding 
and  housing. 

The  latter  has  five  hotels,  two  of  them  com- 
pleted— two  others  sufficiently  so  to  house  their 
guests.  The  completed  houses  are,  one  at 
"Mammoth  Hot  Springs,"  the  other  at  "  Grand 
Canyon."  These  are  fairly  appointed  hotels 
and  each  is  capable  of  nicely  accommodating 
several  hundred  guests.  Aside  from  these  there 
are  two  where  a  tourist  can  live  in  comfort,  pro- 
vided he  be  not  over  fastidious.  The  largest  and 
best  hotel  is  at  "  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,"  at  an 

59 


60  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

elevation  of  6,200  feet.  The  next  best  and 
next  largest  one  is  at  "  Grand  Canyon,"  7,500 
feetnp.  Several  other  hotels  are  partially  finished. 
The  transportation  company  has  some  sev- 
enty five  vehicles,  two-thirds,  if  not  three-fourths 
of  them  Concord  stages  and  wagonettes  car- 
rying six  to  seven  passengers,  but  capable  of 
carrying  three  or  four  more  by  placing  three  on 
a  seat ;  the  other  vehicles  are  four-passenger  sur- 
reys. The  coaches  and  wagonettes  each  have 
four  horses,  the  surreys  two.  The  tourist  pur- 
chases tickets  for  the  round  trip.  Forty  dollars 
carries  one  from  Livingston  on  the  railroad  to 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  then  around  the 
park,  occupying  five  and  a  quarter  days.  This 
includes  hotel  expenses.  One  thus  sees  every- 
thing in  the  grand  tour,  but  somewhat  hur- 
riedly. However,  quite  a  number  stop  over  at 
the  "  Upper  Geyser  Basin  "  and  at  "  Grand  Can- 
yon;" the  stop-overs  thus  making  room  for  those 
who  had  halted  the  day  before.  There  are  at 
this  time  tourists  enough  to  start  out  each  day 
from  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  about  five  coaches 
and  several  surreys  all  leaving  at  a  fixed  hour 
and  reaching  points  of  interests  or  other  hotels 
close  together,  each  vehicle  maintaining  its  po- 
sition in  the  line  throughout  the  tour.  Thus 
racing  is  prevented.  A  great  mistake  is  made 
in  keeping  the  vehicles  in  line  too  close  together. 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  6 1 

For  at  times  the  dust  on  some  of  the  roads  is 
very  deep,  causing  passengers  in  some  of  the 
vehicles  to  be  choked  and  rendered  very  un- 
comfortable. It  rains  frequently  throughout 
the  park ;  but  for  this  the  tour  would  be  almost 
unbearable.  Our  party  was  in  this  respect  very 
fortunate 

The  management  very  foolishly  discour- 
ages individual  stop-overs,  but  suggests  a 
stage  or  surrey  party  to  hold  over  the  vehicle. 
This  is  expensive  and  parties  are  not  always  of 
one  mind.  I  stopped  and  now  stop  over,  taking 
my  diances  for  a  vacancy  in  a  coach.  This 
should  be  encouraged  by  the  management,  for  a 
person  can  spend  several  days  of  pleasure  and 
instruction  at  two,  three  or  more  points. 

"  Grand  Canyon  "  from  which  this  letter  is 
started,  would  make  a  charming  resort  for  parties 
for  days, or  even  weeks,  and  two  orthree  daysshould 
be  taken  to  study  the  "  Upper  Geyser  Basin."  But 
the  entire  management  is  yet  in  an  embryo 
state,  and  too  great  an  endeavor  is  made  to  make 
both  ends  meet,  with  a  profitable  balance  at  the 
end  of  the  season.  Some  travelers  complain  bit- 
terly of  the  accommodations  furnished  at  the 
hotels.  They  are,  however,  I  suspect,  of  those 
who  expect  the  comforts  of  home,  or  the  luxuries 
of  first-class  city  hotels  where  ever  they  go. 
Those  who  are  prepared  to  make  the  most  of 


62  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

life,  and  to  pick  up  pleasure  wherever  to  be 
found,  can  spend  several  weeks  in  the  Park, 
without  loss  of  flesh  and  with  instruction  regard- 
ing the  sports  and  freaks  of  nature  to  be  found 
no  where  else.  The  wonders  are  unique  and 
the  marvels  unequaled  elsewhere  in  the  world. 

Some  tourists  are  so  unfortunate  as  to  arrive 
at  the  park  when  very  large  excursion  parties 
from  the  East  make  their  entry.  Then  the 
hotels  become  necessarily  crowded.  No  prudent 
provision  can  make  preparation  for  an  extra 
hundred  pouring  in  on  top  of  the  regular  travel. 
At  such  times  one  is  compelled  to  take  a  bed  in 
a  room  with  several  others  and  may  even  be 
forced  to  crowd  two  in  a  bed.  That  happened 
once  to  our  party.  But  none  of  the  travelers 
had  the  small  pox  or  itch,  so  no  great  harm  re- 
sulted. By  hugging  the  outer  rail  of  a  bed,  in- 
stead of  the  bed  fellow,  the  necessity  of  tumbling 
two  in  a  bed  is  not  altogether  a  catastrophe. 

Besides  those  who  make  the  regular  tours,  there 
are  many  who  hire  carriages  and  wagons  at  Cin- 
nabar for  a  leisurely  excursion,  which  may  be 
longer  or  shorter  to  suit  disposable  time  and  the 
fullness  of  purses.  Parties  too,  besides  hiring 
carriages  and  horses,  frequently  take  tents  and 
enjoy  a  regular  roughing  life.  We  encountered 
many  of  these.  Some  were  of  a  man  and  his 
family,  others  of  two  or  three  young  men,  and 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  63 

still  others  of  men  and  ladies  by  the  dozen  or 
two,  and  in  one  instance  thirty  or  forty  were  in 
the  party.  The  large  parties  have  a  nnmber  of 
attendants  who  generally  go  ahead  to  prepare 
the  camps  for  the  night,  while  the  tourists  loiter 
along  the  way  to  inspect  the  marvels  or  to  bota- 
nize. The  small  parties  we  saw,  pitched  their 
tents  when  practicable,  near  a  trout  stream,  sev- 
eral of  which  furnished  fine  sport.  Throughout 
the  Park  we  noticed  that  at  and  about  localities 
usually  chosen  for  camping  ground,  warnings 
were  nailed  upon  the  trees,  u  Put  out  the  fires. " 
Destructive  forest  fires  have  resulted  from  care- 
lessness of  campers.  Soldiers  in  pairs  ride  along 
several  of  the  roads  daily  to  see  that  these  regu- 
lations are  observed,  and  to  prevent  injurious 
results  from  non-observance.  Twice  we  saw 
blue  coats  extinguishing  smouldering  fires  left 
by  reckless  people. 

My  personal  stage  party  up  to  this  point,  has 
been  my  daughter  and  some  intelligent  school- 
marms  from  New  York,  one  of  them,  however, 
resenting  the  appellation  of  "  schoolmarm."  She 
is  a  principal.  Woman-like,  they  seemed  glad 
when  I  assumed  command  of  the  party.  Queer, 
how  even  the  brightest  and  most  independent 
woman  takes  to  a  sort  of  master.  Show  me  one 
who  will  not  submit  to  the  yoke,  and  ten  to  one 
she  is  one  few  men  desire  to  boss.  I  call  my 


64  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

party,  "  my  Innocents,"  and  all  move  with  alac- 
rity when  I  cry  out,  "  Come  girls !" 

Between  us,  it  has  been  several  years  since  the 
youngest  of  them  wore  short  dresses.  I  mean 
this  in  good  part,  for  girls  just  getting  into  long 
skirts  are  very  like  the  rinsing  fluid  into  which 
the  wash-woman  dips  her  clean  laundry,  and 
called  "  blue  water  " — rather  thin  ! 

All  my  Innocents  are  good,  but  can  stand  a 
straight  shot  in  sensible  English.  One  quotes 
with  a  sigh  the  remark  of  a  friend,  who  wrhen  in 
the  park,  had  but  one  word — the  word  translated 
"sheol"  in  the  revised  version.  Quotation  marks 
are  convenient  when  one  wishes  to  say  some- 
thing a  little  naughty.  The  Rev.  Thomas 
Beecher,  who  is  one  of  our  daily  party,  but  not 
in  our  coach,  and  who  by  the  way  is  something 
of  a  wag,  and  is  not  averse  to  having  a  learned 
theological  discussion  with  one  who,  like  him- 
self, was  intended  for  an  Evangelist,  speaking  of 
the  huge  amount  of  solid  matter  brought  here 
above  ground,  declares  he  must  look  up  Bob 
Ingersoll  to  tell  him  the  Devil  is  making  some 
mighty  big  holes  down  below.  For  my  part  if 
the  Devil  is  doing  all  this,  I  shall  begin  to 
cultivate  high  respect  for  him  as  an  artist,  and 
would  only  ask  him  not  to  let  the  bottom  drop 
out  until  my  friends  to  the  third  and  fourth 
generation  may  come  and  see.  After  them  it 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  65 

matters  not.  Let  the  deluge  come.  It  is  evident 
from  the  names  given  to  many  points  about  the 
park  that  the  Devil's  friends  have  done  much  of 
the  christening  in  this  region. 

Now,  having  to  some  extent  touched  upon  the 
marvelous  antics  of  Nature  in  Uncle  Sam's 
domain,  I  will  say  something  of  those  things 
nearly  as  interesting,  and  which  make  this  tour 
charming  as  a  simple  road  excursion.  The  park 
is  full  of  beauties.  The  drives  are  often  through 
delightful  pine  forests.  The  trees  are  small,  but 
straight  as  arrows,  tall  and  lading  the  air  with 
delicious  perfumes.  Many  hundred,  or  rather 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  acres  are  dead  :  Some 
from  forest  fires,  but  in  many  cases  apparently 
from  a  species  of  blight,  possibly  from  a  failure 
of  nourishment  in  the  thin  soil  on  the  mountain 
slopes  for  the  trees  after  they  have  attained  any 
size.  Tracks  of  fierce  mountain  storms  are  fre- 
quently seen  ;  miles  upon  miles  of  forests  are 
thrown  down,  the  trees  all  lying  in  one  direction, 
showing  that  the  devastation  was  done  by 
straight  running  winds,  and  not  by  tornadoes. 

There  are  noble  mountains  constantly  towering 
above  us,  although  we  are  ourselves  sometimes 
nearly  nine  thousand  feet  above  the  sea,  and 
never  after  leaving  Mammoth  Hot  Springs, 
under  7000.  Many  of  the  mountains  have  bands 
of  snow  stretching  far  below  their  pinnacles,  and 


66  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

some  of  them  are  properly  entitled,  snow-capped. 
The  mountains  and  slopes  are  fairly  well  treed ; 
and  the  small  plains  or  plateaux  show  beautiful 
downs  bordered  with  forest  and  cut  by  copses. 
These  downs  are  green  and  so  smooth  in  the 
distance  that  it  is  difficult  to  realize  that  man 
has  had  nothing  to  do  with  laying  them  out. 
Several  level  valleys  are  very  pretty  and  when 
seen  from  eminences  remind  one  of  valleys  over 
which  people  go  into  ecstasies  in  foreign  lands. 
If  there  were  here  a  church  spire,  and  there  a 
mill  and  a  sprinkling  of  hamlets,  they  would  be 
as  happy  valleys  as  the  vaunted  ones  abroad. 

The  utter  absence  of  habitations  on  the  long 
drives  is  a  striking  peculiarity.  The  roads  being 
tolerably  good  and  entirely  artificial,  makes  one 
expect  to  see  hamlets,  and  he  involuntarily  finds 
himself  looking  for  a  farm  house,  when  the  coach 
emerges  from  a  forest,  and  comes  upon  a  broad 
stretch  of  clean  looking  well  grassed  native 
meadow  land.  A  turn  of  a  mountain  spur  along 
a  crystal  stream,  which  has  deepened  into  a  pool, 
suggests  a  mill-pond,  and  that  a  water  wheel 
will  soon  come  into  view.  A  grassy  plain  all 
sun-lighted  causes  one  to  look  for  a  herd  of  cattle 
lazily  lying  in  a  wooded  copse  on  its  margin. 
But  no  habitation  othei  than  the  regular  hotels, 
are  to  be  found  within  the  wonder  land. 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  67 

The  park  is  comparatively  a  free  and  safe 
home  for  many  varieties  of  wild  animals.  Guns 
and  pistols  are  forb'^en,  except  to  the  soldiers 
and  to  the  scouts  who  are  a  sort  of  a  police  corps, 
whose  duty  is  to  see  that  trespassers  do  not  enter 
upon  the  Government  preserve.  Elk,  deer, 
mountain  sheep,  bear  black  and  cinnamon,  buf- 
falo and  other  animals  indigenous  to  the  Rocky 
mountains,  range  freely  over  the  hills  without 
molestation  ;  and  beaver  build  their  dams  close 
by  the  hotels.  How  many  buffalo  are  yet 
denizens  of  the  park,  I  could  not  definitely  learn, 
but  was  told  that  there  are  from  fifty  to  a  hun- 
dred. Squirrels  and  chipmunks  are  very  numerous 
in  several  varieties,  and  very  gentle.  The  bear 
are  becoming  too  numerous  for  the  safety  of  such 
animals  as  they  prey  upon.  On  this  account  the 
scouts  are  destroying  many  of  them. 

I  said  there  are  no  domestic  animals,  except 
a  few  about  the  hotels.  The  result  is,  the 
grasses  are  fine  and  the  flowers  in  great  pro- 
fusion and  very  beautiful — patches  of  larkspur 
as  blue  as  indigo,  acres  of  lupin  of  various 
tints,  generally  blue  and  lilac  with  eyes  of 
white ;  gentians  so  rich  and  purple  that  one 
feels  that  they  have  been  dipped  in  Tyrian 
dyes  ;  sunflowers  and  buttercups,  making  acres 
look  as  if  they  had  been  sprinkled  with  gold ; 
and  many  other  beautiful  flowers,  whose  names 


68  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

I  know  not.  But  one  thistle  I  must  not  forget 
to  mention.  It  is  short  and  heavy  from  the 
ground,  not  unlike  the  edible  thistle  of  Japan, 
with  leaves  and  stalks  of  flesh  colored  pink, 
bleached  into  a  sort  of  mixture  of  white,  green 
and  rose,  with  clustered  flowers  in  compact  head 
of  exquisite  rose  and  pink.  It  is  a  rarely  beau- 
tiful flower.  One  flower  of  delicate  lavender, 
thickly  strewn  along  branching  spikes,  was 
wholly  unknown  to  all  of  our  party  and  is 
acknowledged  of  great  beauty.  Its  leaf  and 
small  flowers  lead  me  to  think  it  a  wild  holly- 
hock. 

STUPENDOUS  SOUNDS  OF  FALLING  FLOODS. 

As  I  sit  at  my  window  the  roar  of  the  glorious 
Yellowstone  falls  filling  my  ear,  I  look  out  across 
the  deep  river  canyon,  to  an  upper  plateau  of 
several  thousands  of  acres  of  beautiful  meadow, 
some  miles  away,  with  here  and  there  a  copse  of 
young  pines,  and  all  fringed  by  rich  forest,  and 
feel  I  should  see  a  herd  of  fallow  deer  wandering 
over  some  ancient,  lordly  park.  It  is  true  that 
my  glass  shows  that  much  of  the  velvety  softness 
of  the  down  is  from  green  sagebush,  which  is  so 
softened  down  by  the  distance  that  from  here  it 
resembles  well  cut  grass.  It  is  very  beautiful. 

Guide  books  tell  us  not  to  drink  the  water.  I 
think  their  writers  were  in  collusion  with  the 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  69 

hotel  management  to  force  guests  to  buy  lager 
and  apollinaris  at  50  cents  a  bottle.  By  the  way, 
there  is  on  the  first  days  drive  an  .apollinaris 
spring.  It  seems  to  me  the  simon  pure  thing. 
We  drank  freely  of  it  at  the  spring  and  after- 
wards from  bottles  carried  for  several  hours.  One 
of  the  bottles  was  tightly  corked,  and,  when 
opened,  popped  as  if  well  charged.  At  another 
spring — a  little  thing  immediately  on  the  edge 
of  the  road  on  the  Beaver  river  and  in  the  cool 
and  beautiful  Beaver  canyon,  we  had  soda  water 
flavoured  with  lime  juice.  At  least,  it  reminded 
me  very  distinctly  of  soda  water  with  which  the 
juice  of  the  lime  had  been  mingled  in  Ceylon. 
The  bar-tenders  in  the  "Flowery  Isle"  call  it 
"lemon  squoze."  It  was  our  favorite  beverage 
in  hot  Colombo.  Both  of  these  springs  are  small, 
but  from  them  could  be  bottled  many  cases  a 
day.  A  gentleman  in  the  party  who  has  drank 
only  Apollinaris  since  he  came  into  the  Park, 
tasted  from  my  bottle  and  declared  it  quite  equal 
to  the  pure  stuff.  PAeeling  the  need  of  an  altera- 
tive, I  twice  drank  several  glasses  from  a  hot 
spring  with  decided  benefits  ;  and  have  partaken 
freely  throughout  the  tour  of  the  springs  (except 
those  whose  brilliant  green  showed  them  largely 
impregnated  with  arsenic  or  copper,)  and  with 
no  perceptible  injurious  effects.  The  hotel  people 
are  inclined  to  disparage  the  waters  of  the  springs 


yo  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

generally,  and  discourage  their  use,  thereby  and 
possibly  for  that  purpose,  largely  increasing  the 
consumption  of  lager  and  bottled  waters,  which 
sell  at  fifty  cents  a  bottle.  The  enormous 
number  of  empty  bottles  along  the  road  sides  and 
at  the  hotels  testify  to  the  thirst  and  timidity  of 
the  traveling  public.  The  coach  drivers  call  the 
empty  bottles  along  the  road  "dead  soldiers." 
The  "peg"  i.  e.  whisky  soda  is  the  bane  of  the 
Buropean  in  India.  The  disposition  to  make 
"dead  soldiers"  in  the  National  Park  very  pro- 
bably does  more  harm  to  the  tourist  than  the 
native  waters  would  if  judiciously  used. 

When  the  government  does  its  duty — makes 
abundant  roads  and  bridges  about  its  marvelous 
domain  here,  and  analyzes  thoroughly  its  hot 
springs — I  doubt  not  there  will  be  found  many 
of  them  of  great  hygienic  value,  and  sanitariums 
will  be  established  to  make  the  park  a  blessing 
to  the  afflicted  of  the  country. 

One  good  housewife  whom  I  met  frequently  at 
the  different  halting-places,  sighed  deeply  at  the 
enormous  waste  of  hot  water,  declaring  there 
was  enough  here  to  laundry  all  America,  and  to 
wash  the  poor  of  all  our  big  cities.  The  good 
people  tell  us  everything  was  made  for 'man.  I 
doubt  it.  He  is  not  worth  the  good  things  lavished 
upon  him.  He  is  a  part  of  the  mighty  plan  and 
will  be  followed  after  the  next  cataclysm  by 


YELLOWSTONE    NATIONAL    PARK.  71 

beings  as  much  above  him  as  he  is  above  the 
chimpanzee.  But  if  the  good  people  be  correct, 
Congress  ought  to  take  immediate  steps  to  enable 
the  people  more  fully  to  utilize  the  mighty 
Hygea  located  within  the  bounds  of  this  park. 

Surrounded  by  bare  and  bleak  mountains  and 
hot  and  arid  plains,  here  at  this  elevation  rains 
are  abundant,  and  dews  are  sufficient;  trees  clothe 
mountain  top  and  slope ;  grass  is  green  and  fat- 
tening, and  flowers  deck  the  open  downs  and 
shade  the  forest  land.  And  yet  the  air  is  dry 
and  beneficial  to  all  except  those  whose  lungs 
require  an  atmosphere  less  light.  We  have  seen 
several  consumptives  who  have  come  here  for 
their  health.  The  rarified  atmosphere  makes 
their  breathing  very  laborious  and  painful.  Pos- 
bly  in  the  early  stages  of  the  disease,  benefits 
may  be  derived  from  a  sojourn  here,  but  in  its 
later  stages,  the  poor  victims  suffer  fearfully. 
The  majority  of  those  whom  we  have  seen  here 
for  health,  are  camping  out  and  seem  to  be 
having  a  good  time.  They  have  their  horses, 
and  spend  their  time  fishing  and  riding. 

On  the  road  from  the  lower  Geyser  basin  to 
Grand  Canyon  we  halted  at  a  little  rivulet  to 
water  our  stock.  The  stream  cut  its  way  deep 
down  in  a  grassy  plain,  and  was  so  narrow  that 
one  could  easily  jump  over  it.  A  small  camp- 
ing party  had  just  pitched  its  tents  close  by. 


72  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

While  the  tent  lines  were  being  stretched,  the 
gentleman  of  the  party  came  to  the  rivulet  near 
ns  to  angle  for  his  supper.  He  cast  his  fly  a 
few  times,  when  there  was  a  u  rise  "  to  it  not 
twenty  feet  from  our  coach,  and  a  two  pound 
beauty,  speckled  and  plump  was  landed.  I  en- 
vied the  camper. 

In  some  localities  in  the  Yellowstone,  and  es- 
pecially in  and  about  the  great  lake,  parasites  so 
infest  the  fish  as  to  unfit  them  for  the  table. 
The  infected  fish,  however,  are  easily  known  and 
may  be  discarded,  while  the  good  are  retained. 
A  gentleman  who  has  fished  throughout  the 
park  informed  me,  that  as  a  rule,  the  fish  were 
good.  Like  the  trout  in  all  the  Rocky  moun- 
tains and  Pacific  regions,  the  fish  caught  here 
lack  the  delicate  flavour  of  the  brook  trout  taken 
in  the  Adirondacks  and  throughout  the  New 
England  States. 

We  regret  we  could  not  visit  the  Great  Yellow- 
stone Lake.  The  hotels  there  being  unfinished, 
the  regular  stage  route  does  not  yet  take  it  in. 
It  is  at  an  altitude  of  7700  feet,  and  is  over 
twenty  miles  long  from  the  North-west  to  the 
South-east  and  fifteen  from  North-east  to  South- 
west, covering  an  area  of  150  or  more  square 
miles .  It  is  very  irregular  in  its  form  and  said 
to  be  a  beautiful  sheet.  Excepting  the  lake  in 
the  Andes  it  is  much  the  largest  lake  in  the 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  73 

world  at  so  great  elevation.  A  large  hotel  is 
being  erected  on  its  margin.  When  finished  it 
will  make  a  very  attractive  addition  to  the  Park 
tour,  and  will  furnish  a  stop  over  for  days  or 
weeks  to  those  who  have  time  at  their  command. 

One  is  surprised  to  find  how  quickly  he  be- 
comes fatigued  by  a  short  climb,  until  his  lungs 
become  accustomed  to  the  rare  medium  he  is 
taking  in.  One  old  man,  I  need  not  name, 
stepped  jauntily  by  the  side  of  a  pretty  school- 
marm  and  swore  he  was  32,  but  the  climb  of  a 
mile  made  him,  with  blushes  which  tinged  the 
cuticle  of  his  bald  head,  acknowledge  he  was 
past  65.  He  was  somewhat  relieved,  when  he 
saw  how  the  sweet  innocent  was  panting  at  his 
side. 

There  is  here  what  I  am  told  exists  nowhere 
else  in  the  world — a  mountain  of  glass — vol- 
canic obsidian — monster  masses  resembling  the 
molten  opaque  blocks  left  by  the  Chicago  great 
fire  in  the  ruins  of  a  glass  warehouse.  We 
drove  along  a  road  of  shivered  glass.  The  en- 
gineers built  fires  over  great  obsidian  bowlders, 
and  then  threw  cold  water  from  the  stream  close 
by  over  the  heated  mass,  breaking  it  into  glass 
gravel.  Chipmunks  of  several  varieties,  gray 
pine  squirrels,  hop  about  barking  within  a  few 
feet  of  one  ;  robins  are  almost  as  gentle  as  spar- 
rows, and  bears  come  down  near  to  one  of  the 


74  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

hotels  nightly  to  be  fed  for  the  amusement  of 
the  tourists.  Beavers  have  their  dams  close  by 
our  hotel  and  can  at  dusk  be  seen  swimming 
about  and  feeding.  A  small  herd  of  buffalos, 
since  we  have  been  here,  rushed  across  the  road 
just  in  front  of  an  excursion  party,  giving  the 
stage  horses  a  fright  and  nearly  creating  a 
panic.  No  gun  is  allowed  in  the  park,  except 
to  the  military  and  scouts,  and  no  one  can  kill 
an  animal,  except  when  driven  to  it  for  want  of 
necessary  food.  Two  companies  of  soldiers 
patrol  the  regular  routes  to  enforce  the  regula- 
tions and  to  serve  as  voluntary  guides  for  the 
ladies  of  the  daily  parties.  They  forbid  the 
smallest  specimen  to  be  carried  off.  I  had  even 
to  hide  the  little  dabs  of  mud  I  took  from  a 
paint-pot.  Uncle  Sam  is  cultivating  good  nature 
among  men  and  beasts  within  this,  his  unique 
domain.  Even  the  devil  may  grow  good-na- 
tured, and  may  cut  up  his  didos  and  antics  after 
a  while  only  for  the  people's  amusement. 

THE  CLIMAX  OF  GRANDEUR  AND  BEAUTY. 

Having  told  you  of  the  freaks  and  sports  of 
nature  which  make  the  more  striking  marvels 
of  this  wonderland  ;  and  having  spoken  of  the 
softer  and  sweeter  characteristics  of  the  Park,  I 
now  come  to  what  the  majority  of  the  travelers 
consider  its  gem. 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK.      75 

A  Soudanese  wise  man  is  said  to  have  swal- 
lowed the  tale  of  Jonah  and  the  whale  without 
making  a  wry  face,  but  grew  fighting  mad  when 
asked  to  believe  the  story  of  snow  and  ice  in 
northern  lands.  The  genii  might  easily  send 
a  man  through  a  whale's  belly,  but  Allah  him- 
telf  could  not  make  water  hard  and  dry.  So  it  is 
easy  to  tell  of  the  monstrosities  of  the  park,  and 
hope  for  credence.  They  are  simply  montrosi- 
ties — the  work  of  demoniac  power,  and  are  cred- 
ible. But  who  can  make  another  believe  that 
huge  precipices,  one  and  two  thousand  feet  high, 
have  been  painted  with  all  the  colors  of  the  set- 
ting sun ;  that  the  rainbow  has  settled  upon 
miles  of  rocks  and  left  its  sweet  tints  upon  their 
rugged  sides?  And  yet  this  and  these  are  true 
of  the  Yellowstone  canyon. 

We  approached  it  from  the  South  on  a  road  run- 
ning near  the  river.  On  a  pretty  grassy  bank  we 
rode  along  the  stream,  here  over  a  hundred  yards 
wide,  rolling  swiftly  yet  smoothly  along  in  green 
depths,  preparing  to  make  its  two  plunges  into  the 
chasm  below.  Swift  and  swifter  it  hurried  on- 
ward in  quickened  dignity.  Presently  the  rock 
walls  on  either  side  grew  contracted  to  a  hun- 
dred or  so  feet,  and  then  the  green  stream  rushed 
in  smooth  slope  to  a  gateway  of  eighty  feet  in 
width,  through  which,  with  parabolic  swoop,  it 
leaps  112  feet  with  such  depth  on  its  brink,  that 


76  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

the  deep-emerald  green  is  not  lost  till  it  strikes 
a  ledge  at  the  bottom,  where  a  large  part  of  the 
falling  sheet  is  shot  off  at  an  angle  into  the  air, 
half  as  high  up  as  the  fall  itself.  The  two  sides 
of  the  river  at  the  brink  of  the  fall  rnsh  against 
precipitous  walls  and  are  bent  and  curled  up- 
wards into  a  veil  six  or  eight  feet  high  over  the 
green  center — a  veil  of  countless  millions  of 
crystal  drops — over  the  main  stream  of  emerald 
more  than  half  hidden  in  a  mighty  shower  of 
diamonds.  '  Standing  immediately  on  the  edge, 
one  can  imagine  how  Niagara's  Horseshoe  would 
look  if  one  could  get  within  a  few  feet  of  it. 
This  fall  is  not  very  lofty  nor  wide,  but  is  one  of 
the  most  beautiful  in  the  world.  The  river  after  the 
first  fall  rushes  in  foamy  swirl  a  half  mile  further, 
between  cliffs  which  on  either  side  lift  1,500  feet 
high,  and  growing  higher  and  higher,  and  then 
with  one  wild  leap  plunges  300  feet  into  the  rocky 
gorge  below. 

As  it  drops  the  emerald  and  the  diamond 
struggle  for  supremacy,  but  the  brighter  crystal 
gains  the  ascendency  before  all  is  lost  in  the 
lace-like  mist  which  envelopes  the  depths.  The 
whole  when  seen  from  a  little  distance  looks  as 
light  as  a  gem-decked  veil  of  lace,  but  so  vast  is 
the  body  of  the  water  which  makes  the  leap,  and 
so  great  the  fall,  that  to  one  standing  a  mile 
away,  with  a  point  of  land  intervening  between 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK.      77 

him  and  the  fall,  shutting  off  the  noise  of  the 
splashing  water,  there  comes  a  deep  and  mellow 
bass,  richer  than  any  I  ever  heard  before 
made  by  a  water  fall.  It  is  not  an  angry  tone 
like  Niagara's  roar,  but  is  as  deep  and  mellow  as 
distant  rolling  thunder  when  heard  in  a  moun- 
tain gorge. 

These  falls  are  beautiful  in  the  extreme,  but 
the  beholder  soon  forgets  them  in  wonder  of 
the  canyon  which  bends  between  the  towering 
cliffs  for  four  miles.  Far  under  him,  at  least 
1500  feet  down,  the  river  leaps  and  tears,  now -in 
green,  and  then  in  snowy  foam,  between  pre. 
cipices  at  whose  feet  no  human  foot  ever  did  or 
can  safely  tread.  The  rocks  lift  on  either  side 
in  mighty  buttresses  like  giant  cathedral  walls. 
Standing  out  before  the  walls  are  towers  and 
pointed  spires  of  most  artistic  form,  all  painted 
in  exquisite  tints.  The  upper  walls  are  of 
yellow  and  orange  hue,  with  here  and  there 
towers  and  bulwarks  of  chalky  white  or  of  black 
lava  over  which  is  a  film  of  Venetian  red.  The 
upper  yellow  walls,  sink  and  contract  between 
the  lifting  buttresses,  which  at  their  base  are  of 
lava  black,  running  first  into  dark  umber,  and 
then  into  chocolate  bordered  with  black  and 
stained  with  red,  often  so  bright  as  to  be  vermil- 
lion.  In  some  places  the  main  walls  are  broken 
down,  where  some  long-ago  slide  has  carried 


78  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

their  steepness  into  the  river  below,  but  with 
slopes  far  too  steep  for  human  tread.  Some  of 
these  slopes  are  orange  and  yellow  as  if  coated 
with  sulphur;  others  are  painted  in  vertical  bands 
of  brown  and  red,  with  between  them  narrow 
stripes  of"  pearl  gray  and  yellow,  and  of  orange 
stretching  for  hundreds  of  feet,  and  at  one 
point  for  a  half  mile  in  extent ;  one  of  these 
slopes  look  as  if  a  banner  with  these  several 
colors,  had  been  spread  over  it,  and  then  being 
removed,  the  colors  of  the  drapery  had  been 
left  upon  the  soft  velvety  rock.  The  buttresses 
and  spires  lift  now  fifteen  to  a  hundred  feet  apart, 
and  then  they  are  spread  so  that  the  golden  wall 
between  shows  150  to  200  feet.  All  of  the  colors 
except  the  yellow  seem  to  be  in  and  of  the  rock. 
The  yellow  looks  as  if  made  by  blowing  thous- 
ands of  tons  of  flowers  of  sulphur  upon  the  walls, 
the  flowers  having  clung  when  the  wall  had  some 
incline,  but  having  dropped  off  from  the  vertical 
rock. 

These  painted  rocks  extend  along  the  canyon 
for  about  four  miles  ;  then  the  gorge  grows  more 
somber  and  dark,  and  so  continues  some  twenty 
miles.  This  lower  part  seems  to  be  of  a  harder 
rock.  It  was  cut  through  myriads  of  ages  ago 
and  has  grown  darkly  gray,  while  the  painted 
part  is  of  a  much  later  period  and  is  of  soft  rocks 
— so  soft  that  they  seem  to  be  composed  of 


YELLOWSTONE  NATIONAL  PARK.      79 

somewhat  indurated  volcanic  ash,  sulphur  being 
the  predominating  mass.  The  red  coloring  is  from 
oxide  of  iron.  These  blending  together  make 
other  tints.  Burnt  Umber,  often  deepened  into 
a  rich  chocolate  is  the  dominating  one.  The 
buttresses  are  of  a  harder  yet  still  a  rather  soft 
lava,  of  a  yellowish  brown  tint  near  the  summits, 
red  and  brown  below,  and  finally  towards  their 
bases  almost  black.  Sometimes  there  are  slopes 
of  white  lime  and  several  towers,  nearly  2, coo 
feet  high  sheer  up  from  the  river,  are  so  white 
that  one  could  think  them  chalk.  Half  way  down 
the  heights  are  great  points,  like  the  sharpened 
spires  of  a  cathedral,  colored  as  if  a  mighty  pot 
of  Venetian  red  had  been  empted  over  them  and 
had  run  in  streaks  down  the  rocky  sides.  Had 
an  artist  tried  to  sell  me  a  picture  of  these  cliffs, 
before  I  had  seen  them,  in  no  way  exaggerated 
in  coloring,  I  would  have  called  him  a  fraud, 
and  would  have  thought  he  had  taken  me  for  a 
fool.  I  have  seen  now  and  then  pictures  which 
I  considered  daubs,  which  I  now  know  did  not  in 
the  least  overdo  Nature  in  its  freak  of  rock-paint- 
ing. I  quit  the  park  glad  that  I  came,  but  feel 
that  the  rush  and  labor  of  going  through  it  would 
hardly  repay  a  second  hasty  visit,  at  least  for 
several  years.  Yet  I  can  recall  no  excursion  of 
the  same  length  in  any  part  of  the  world  half 
so  full  of  surprises.  Could  we  have  made  it 


80  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

leisurely,  our  enjoyment  would  have  been 
greatly  enhanced.  We  have  met  some  tour- 
ists who  think  the  labor  and  annoyance  of 
the  thing  over-balance  the  profit  and  pleasure. 
Burns  says  ''  Man  was  made  to  mourn."  In  my 
weary  round,  I  have  frequently  been  convinced 
that  about  half  of  the  travelers  of  the  world  were 
made  to  growl,  or  at  least  half  think  they  fail  to 
show  their  "raisin"  unless  they  do  growl. 

Equanimity  of  temper  is  the  most  valuable  of 
all  human  characteristics  for  happiness.  It  is 
absolutely  necessary  to  the  traveler,  who  desires 
to  learn  much,  and  to  enjoy  what  he  sees.  A 
plain  traveling  suit  on  one's  back,  a  resolution 
to  make  the  most  of  every  thing  in  one's  mind, 
and  the  least  possible  luggage  to  carry,  are  the 
three  indispensables  for  a  good  traveler.  The 
park  people  may  not  do  all  they  should  for  the 
public  ;  indeed,  I  fear  they  have  many  short-com- 
ings, but  I  for  one,  am  very  glad  they  are  here, 
and  that  they  do  as  much  as  they  do. 

The  hotels  at  Mammoth  Hot  Springs  and  at 
Yellowstone  canyon  are  large,  each  capable  of 
housing  two  or  three  hundred  guests.  The  beds 
are  clean  and  soft,  the  table  fair  and  the  attend- 
ance quite  good.  I  have  only  one  complaint  to 
make.  At  the  first  named  hotel  they  will  insist 
on  a  brass  band's  tooting  a  good  part  of  the  time. 
The  noise  it  made  was  execrable.  There  is  no 


YELLOWSTONE   NATIONAL   PARK.  8 1 

such  thing  as  bad  music,  it  is  either  music  or  it 
is  noise.  At  Norris,  the  hotel  is  poor  and  the 
managers  impolite.  At  the  Lower  and  at  the 
Upper  Geyser  Basin*  the  houses  are  unfinished, 
and  the  rooms  not  sufficient  in  number,  but  the 
people  do  their  best  to  please.  This  endeavor 
should  cover  a  multitude  of  sins. 


LETTER  V. 

WE  LEAVE  THE  PARK  SATISFIED.  HELENA.  ITS 
GOLD  BEARING  FOUNDATIONS.  BROADWATER. 
A  MAGNIFICENT  NATATORIUM.  A  WILD  RIDE 
THROUGH  TOWN.  CROSSING  THE  ROCKIES. 
SPOKANE.  A  BUSY  TOWN.  MIDNIGHT  PIC- 
NIC. FINE  AGRICULTURAL  COUNTRY.  SAGE 
BUSH  A  BLESSING.  PICTURESQUE  RUN  OVER 
THE  CASCADES.  ACRES  OF  MALT  LIQUORS. 
TACOMA.  A  STARTLING  VISION  OF  MT. 
RENIER  (TACOMA).  WASHINGTON,  A  GREAT 

STATE. 

TACOMA,  WASHINGTON,  July  31,  1890. 

Familiarity  is  said  to  breed  contempt ;  cer- 
tainly it  robs  strange  things  of  much  that  at 
first  seems  marvelous.  On  our  return  from  the 
excursion  around  the  Park,  the  formation  at 
Mammoth  Hot  Springs  had  lost  much  of  that 
which  on  our  first  visit  struck  us  as  so  wonder- 
ful and  charming.  We  had  seen  other  things 
greatly  more  wonderful  with  which  to  compare 
them.  The  encrustations  seemed  not  so  white 
and  the  colorings  of  the  water  had  lost  some  of 
their  prismatic  variety  and  perfection. 

The  impressions  made  upon  the  mind  by  Ni- 
agara grow  on  succeeding  visits.  A  storm  at 
sea  arouses  no  less  awe  because  several  have  been 
before  passed  through.  Niagara  and  the  ocean 

82 


TACOMA.  83 

are  in  eternal  motion.  Motion  irresistably  sug- 
gests change,  and  change  precludes  monotony. 
One  does  not  lose  his  feeling  of  awe,  after  look- 
ing for  many  times  upon  the  towering  heights  of 
the  Yungfrau  or  of  Kinchinjinga.  Their  inacces 
sible  peaks  and  eternal  snows  repel  every  dispo- 
sition to  close  communion.  I  doubt  not,  however, 
if  a  safe  railroad  could  be  run  up  to  mighty  Ever- 
est's loftiest  pinnacle,  that  tourists  would  snap 
their  fingers  at  the  world's  monarch  when  stand- 
ing in  warm  furs  29,000  feet  above  the  sea. 

The  still  and  apparently  unchangeable  incrus- 
tations at  Mammoth  Hot  Springs,  were  looked 
upon  on  our  final  visit  without  awe  or  surprise. 
A  large  party  of  us  left  the  hotel  for  Cinnabar 
closely  packed  in  the  coaches  and  surreys  on  a 
bright  sunny  afternoon,  glad  we  had  seen  the 
wonderland,  but  quite  satisfied  to  leave  our  labors 
behind  us.  As  we  dashed  down  the  defile  near 
the  park  line,  we  doffed  our  hats  and  bade  adieu 
to  the  eagle  sitting  on  its  eyrie  as  we  had  seen 
him  on  our  entrance.  The  downward  ride  was 
quite  rapid,  and  some  of  us  who  had  been  drawn 
into  somewhat  close  communion  during  the  past 
week  were  almost  sorry  when  we  so  soon  reached 
Livingston — some  to  go  eastward  and  others 
westward,  all  to  part  most  probably  forever. 

From  Livingston  to  Helena  the  run  was  made 
at  night.  We  found  the  latter  a  bustling  place 


84  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  well  worth  a  visit.  There  is  an  air  about  a 
mining  camp  which  can  be  seen  in  no  old  coun- 
try, and  Helena  though  now  full  of  city  airs  yet 
has  many  of  the  characteristics  of  the  camp.  Its 
foundations  rest  upon  gold  bearing  earth,  and 
even  now  in  digging  cellars,  quite  in  the  town, 
pay  dirt  is  found.  Nearly  the  entire  site  of  the 
city  has  been  dug  over  by  the  miner.  It  was  in 
one  of  its  gulches,  now  a  street,  that  a  prospector 
wearied  out  by  unsuccessful  tramps  and  reduced 
to  his  last  dollar,  stuck  in  his  pick  to  try  for  a 
"  last  chance."  He  had  no  expectation  of  reward, 
but  dug  down  in  sheer  desperation  before  going 
off  a  pauper.  The  result  was  "The  last  chance 
mine,"  one  of  the  richest  ever  discovered. 

We  stopped  at  the  Helena  hotel  and  found  it 
quite  equal  to  any  in  large  eastern  cities. 

The  Broadwater  Hotel,  however,  some  three 
to  four  miles  out  of  town,  is  now  the  lion  of  the 
place.  It  is  a  cottage-built  house,  with  200  fine 
rooms,  all  finished  in  hardwoods  and  elegantly 
furnished.  Its  bathrooms,  with  huge  porcelain 
tubs  and  large  dressing-rooms  attached  to  each, 
are  especially  fine  and  the  baths  are  said  to  be 
medicinally  good. 

THE   SWIMMING    BATH    OF   THE   WORLD. 

But  these  dwindle  when  compared  with  its 
huge  swimming  bath.  The  natatorium  building 


TACOMA.  85 

is  about  350  feet  long  by  150,  with  a  roof  TOO 
feet  high,  supported  by  light  arches  in  single 
spans.  The  tank  is  300  feet  by  100;  at  one  end 
about  four  feet  deep,  and  running  to  ten  or  more 
at  the  other.  Natural  hot  and  cold  waters  pour 
over  a  precipice  of  cyclopean  masses  of  granite 
at  one  end,  about  fifty  feet  wide  and  forty  high. 
This  precipice  is  pierced  by  three  large  openings 
over  which  the  water  pours  in  great  sheets,  and 
so  artistically  that  one  would  easily  believe  it 
a  series  of  natural  falls.  The  flow  is  so  large 
that  the  tank  is  replenished  several  times  a  day. 
The  temperature  was  to  me  rather  high — about 
86  degrees.  A  swim  in  its  deep  waters,  however, 
was  very  fine.  The  whole  is  lighted  by  day 
through  windows  high  up,  of  cathedral  glass  in 
different  tints,  terra  cotta  predominating.  The 
hotel,  with  its  200  rooms,  and  the  tank-house 
and  grounds  are  illuminated  at  night  by  incan- 
descent lights.  We  saw  it  only  by  day,  but 
could  easily  imagine  how  beautiful  it  must  look 
and  how  gay  a  scene  it  must  offer  when  300  or 
400  people  are  in  at  night — men  and  gay  ladies. 
Very  decorous  bathing  suits  are  furnished  to 
bathers,  and  those  bringing  their  own,  are  com- 
pelled to  have  them  of  conventional  modesty. 
I  was  told  that  300  bathers  of  an  evening 
is  not  an  unusual  number,  and  that  it  is 
largely  frequented  during  nine  months  of  the 


86  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

year  and  by  the  very  best  people  of  the  city. 
The  charge  is  fifty  cents  for  an  entrance,  so 
as  to  keep  out  the  riff-raff.  Col.  Broadwater 
has  expended  half  a  million  on  the  house  and 
grounds,  bringing  his  hot  water  from  a  min- 
eral hot  spring  some  four  miles  up  a  gorge, 
and  a  large  supply  of  cold  pure  water  also  from 
the  hills.  The  hotel  was  full.  We  took  lunch 
with  the  Colonel  and  some  friends,  and  found  it 
like  everything  else,  first  class.  A  steam  and  an 
electric  motor  road  leads  from  the  city  to  the 
hotel.  By  the  way,  why  do  the  street  car  people 
not  put  in  electrical  motors  in  Chicago?  At  St. 
Paul,  Helena  and  Spokane  we  have  ridden  upon 
them  and  were  delighted.  A  car  looks  as  if  it 
were  out  fishing  with  a  fishing  rod  springing 
from  its  top,  bent  just  as  if  it  were  playing  a 
gamy  fish. 

The  hospitalities  of  the  Broadwater  very 
nearly  cost  us  our  connection  at  the  railroad. 
We  gave  ourselves  but  little  time,  expecting  to 
find  a  carriage  ordered  to  be  in  waiting  at  the 
electric  road  city  terminus.  It  was  not  there 
and  we  walked  to  our  hotel  to  find  we  had  but 
eleven  minutes  to  get  our  luggage  on  a  carriage 
and  to  reach  the  railroad  station  a  mile  and  a 
half  away.  The  porter  said  it  was  impossible  to 
reach  it  in  time.  We  ordered  our  traps  brought 
'down  and  rushed  to  our  rooms  for  our  small 


TACOMA.  87 

pieces.  At  the  office  were  a  crowd  of  newly 
arrived  travelers.  I  called  to  the  clerk  saying 
I  had  no  time  to  pay  hotel  bills.  He  smiled. 
Taking  advantage  of  his  good  humor  we  mounted 
the  carnage  telling  the  driver  to  make  the  train 
or  die.  He  said  he  would  land  us  on  the  train  or 
in — naming  a  rather  hot  place.  He  tore  through 
the  town  at  a  full  gallop.  People  in  shop 
doors  looked  at  us  and  smiled.  Possibly  they 
suspected  an  old  gray  beard  was  getting  away 
with  a  young  girl.  The  jehu  and  his  horses 
were  plucky.  The  station  house  as  we  drove 
up  hid  the  train  from  us,  and  hid  us  from 
it.  We  turned  the  building,  the  train  was 
well  in  motion,  the  engineer  checked  up  but 
the  train  continued  to  move.  We  jumped  down  ; 
the  driver  threw  our  trunk  into  the  baggage 
car;  I  landed  my  valise  on  the  platform  of 
the  next  car;  my  daughter  got  her  satchel  on  the 
next  and  she  climbed  up  on  the  third.  I  caught 
on  and  climbed  the  fourth  and  threw  the  fare  to 
the  driver.  Quite  a  crowd  of  people  about  the 
station  admired  our  pluck,  and  when  our  driver 
yelled  out  "Hurrah  for  Chicago"  a  generous 
response  went  up  from  a  score  or  more  of  throats. 
Success  is  admired  everywhere,  but  out  west  it 
is  the  cure  all.  Every  man  at  that  station  would 
at  that  moment  have  voted  for  me  for — pound 
master.  Shortly  after  leaving  Helena  the  climb 


88  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

is  commenced  in  scaling  the  real  Rocky  Moun- 
tains. The  road  bends  and  winds  over  many 
magnificent  curves  and  loops,  rapidly  climbing 
upward.  Now  we  look  far  above  us,  at  a  locomo- 
tive slowly  creeping  along  the  mountain  side, 
and  we  look  down  upon  the  road  we  had  a  few 
moments  before  puffed  along,  but  already  hun- 
dreds of  feet  immediately  under  us.  The  moun- 
tains towered  above  us,  covered  by  great  black 
precipices,  and  mighty  detached  rocks  standing 
alone  or  in  groups.  This  is  the  true  backbone 
of  the  continent,  and  the  black  scattered  rocks 
might  be  vertebrae  pushing  through  the  worn 
cuticle.  We  could  understand  here  why  these 
are  called  the  rocky  mountains.  Rough  towers 
and  jagged  turrets  black  with  the  weather  wear 
of  ages  are  the  salient  features  of  the  heights 
and  slopes.  Here  they  are  in  great  groups, 
there  isolated.  Now  they  are  compacted  into 
massive  precipices,  frowning  and  repellent,  and 
then  scattered  as  if  dropped  by  icebergs.  They 
are,  however,  not  mighty  loose  boulders,  but  are 
moored  to  and  are  a  part  of  the  mountain's 
foundation  rocks. 

We  crossed  some  lofty  trestle  bridges  and 
looked  down  upon  a  stream  thick  with  mud  from 
a  gold  washing  camp  near  by.  At  length  we 
reached  the  summit.  Our  extra  locomotive  was 
side  tracked  and  we  breathed  an  atmosphere 


TACOMA.  89 

perceptibly  different  from  that  we  had  left  on  the 
eastern  side  of  the  range.  We  were  now  upon 
the  Pacific  slope. 

We  halted  for  a  few  minutes  at  Missoula.  The 
fine  valley  was  bathed  in  the  glowing  red  of  sun- 
set. We  lost  at  night  much  beautiful  wooded 
scenery  which  I  once  before  enjoyed  so  much. 
To  one  simply  going  to  Puget  Sound  it  is  worth 
while  to  stop  over  at  Missoula  and  then  to  run 
down  Clark's  Fork  by  day.  But  we  wished  to 
have  a  full  day  at  our  next  stopping  place. 

Of  all  the  cities  we  have  seen,  the  busiest  was 
Spokane — pronounced  as  if  there  were  no  "  e  " 
at  the  end  and  the  ua"  quite  broad.  Seven 
years  ago  I  was  there.  Then  it  had  but  800 
dwellers.  Now  there  are  in  the  neighborhood  of 
25,000.  There  are  several  streets  with  elegant 
business  blocks,  finished  or  being  completed,  of 
four,  five,  and  six  stories  in  height,  comparing 
favorably  with  those  of  any  Eastern  city  in  arch- 
itectural design  and  finish.  The  heart  of  the 
city  reminds  one  of  Chicago  the  spring  after  the 
great  fire,  and  the  people  seem  to  have  the  same 
pluck,  and  energy,  and  confidence  that  so  marked 
our  people  at  that  time.  Some  of  the  private 
houses  on  the  steep,  hugely-bowldered  slope  of  a 
high  hill  on  one  side  of  the  city  are  models  of 
elegance.  We  visited  two  which  were  real  chefs 
croeuvres  of  architectural  design — one  a  Swiss 


90  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

chalet,  the  other  Mooresque  in  design.  Every- 
thing was  after  the  original  models,  even  to 
mr  ch  of  the  furniture.  I  have  never  seen  ex- 
cept in  some  model  houses  abroad  such  complete 
specimens.  The  outside  of  several  others  which 
we  did  not  visit  are  quite  as  fine.  Mrs.  Cutter, 
the  proud  mother  of  the  architect,  exhibited  her 
house  with  great  hospitality,  and  Mrs.  Moore 
seemed  to  feel  that  she  had  no  right  to  hide  her 
gem  of  a  residence. 

At  evening  we  were  invited  to  a  fete  cham- 
petre  on  a  fine  lake  some  forty  miles  north  of 
the  city  and  800  feet  elevated  above  it.  About 
300  of  the  elite  of  the  town  went  out  by  rail, 
danced,  and  had  supper,  returning  to  town  by 
i  o'clock  in  the  morning.  The  young  girl  with 
me  enjoyed  it  greatly.  A  severe  cold  just  caught 
forbade  my  appreciating  anything  but  the  sweet, 
sincere  hospitality  shown  us.  Judge  Kinnaiid, 
the  son  of  one  of  the  friends  of  my  early  Ken- 
tucky boyhood,  got  us  the  entree  of  Spokane's 
"four  hundred."  This  is  destined  to  continue  a 
thriving  city,  but  lots  at  $1,000,  four  miles  from 
the  heart  of  the  city,  will  burn  badly  some  real 
estate  speculators.  It  is  said  a  mining  trade  of 
nearly  $50,000  a  day  naturally  belongs  to  the 
town.  I  fear,  however,  there  will  be  a  bursting 
of  a  bubble  when  the  burnt  district  shall  be  re- 
stored. A  large  trade  will  be  necessary  to  support 


OLD  FAITHFUL,  AT  UPPER  GEYSER  BASIN.     (SEE  PAGE  36.) 


TACOMA.  91 

the  great  number  of  mechanics  and  laborers 
now  lifting  the  town  from  its  ashes.  Hotel 
Spokane  is  a  very  large  and  good  house. 

Very  fine  crops  are  grown  in  the  Spokane 
Valley.  The  crops  of  oats  and  wheat  sown  for 
hay  was  being  harvested  and  proved  a  very 
heavy  yield.  Washington  claims  she  will  har- 
vest over  20,000,000  bushels  of  wheat  this  year. 
I  was  surprised  to  see  fine  fields  of  grain  on  the 
rolling  plains  in  the  great  bend  of  the  Columbia 
river.  I  remember  speaking  of  the  richness  of 
this  soil  in  the  "Race  with  the  Sun,"  but  thought 
artificial  irrigation  would  be  necessary  to  make 
it  yield.  This  year  there  are  fine  crops  where 
only  nature's  watering  can  ever  be  availed  of. 
One  of  the  stations,  quite  removed  from  any 
water  course,  has  grown  into  a  thriving  town, 
showing  that  the  country  around  is  prosperous. 

I  suspect  that  a  fair  rainfall  cannot  be  relied 
upon  from  year  to  year.  It  will,  however,  be- 
come more  and  more  reliable,  for  it  has  been  the 
rule  throughout  the  world  and  probably  through 
all  ages,  that  rains  follow  cultivation,  and  man's 
presence  and  industry  calls  down  Heaven's  aid. 
The  answer  of  Hercules  to  the  cartman  would 
be  the  reply  of  Ceres  as  well  to  the  prayers  of 
her  votaries. 

The  ash  colored  sage  bush  was  thought  by 
the  early  men  of  the  great  plains  to  be  poison  to 


92  A   SUMMER  S   OUTING. 

the  land.  It  however  was  one  of  God's  bounties 
to  man.  It  prevented  the  soil  from  being  blown 
away  and  where  it  grew  the  most  lavishly,  is 
now  found  to  be  the  best  of  soils.  Sage  bush 
not  only  keeps  the  winds  away,  but  when  dead 
and  rotten  fills  up  sand  pockets  with  material 
rich  for  all  of  the  small  grains.  The  people  of 
the  Yakima  valley  on  the  eastern  slope  of  the 
Cascade  mountains,  boast  that  theirs  is  the  gar- 
den spot  of  the  Pacific  country.  They  certainly 
do  produce  fine  fruits,  melons  and  garden  vege- 
tables, but  I  have  not  been  struck  favorably  with 
the  outlook  of  the  locality  in  either  of  my  trips 
through  the  land. 

The  run  from  Ellensburg  over  the  Cascades  is 
a  magnificent  ride.  The  enormous  mass  of  for- 
est, prevents  many  extended  views,  but  those 
seen  are  very  fine.  Every  break  in  the  forests 
would  reveal  lofty  mountains  slopes  clothed 
in  forests  of  marvelous  richness,  and  now  and 
then  snowy  heights  would  tower  aloft.  Once  a 
fine  view  of  Renier  is  caught,  the  monarch  of 
the  grand  range.  Robed  in  his  snowy  ermine 
he  stands  out  a  sceptered  hermit  wrapped  in  his 
isolation.  Seen  from  the  sound  he  is  one  of  the 
most  picturesque  peaked  mountains  of  the 
world,  and  from  all  inland  points  of  view  he  is 
a  grand  towering  mass  of  ever  living  snow  and 
ice. 


TACOMA.  93 

ARKANSAS    HOT   SPRINGS,    RIVALED. 

Having  done  considerable  hard  work  on  the 
trip  so  far,  we  resolved  to  take  a  rest  at  the  hot 
springs,  three  and-a-half  hours  from  Tacoma,  on 
Green  River.  Three  years  ago  my  boys  and  I 
fished  here  pleasantly  for  several  days.  The 
place  is  unpretentious,  but  the  waters  possess 
apparently  the  same  properties  as  those  of  the 
Arkansas  hot  springs.  The  place  is  some  four- 
teen hundred  and  fifty  feet  above  Tacoma.  Dur- 
ing our  present  three  days  stop,  an  overcoat  has 
been  comfortable  in  the  evenings,  and  we  sleep 
under  three  blankets.  A  cold  batch  of  air  drops 
down  the  valley  from  Mount  Reniers  (Tacoma 
calls  him  Mount  Tacoma;  Renier  is  his  name), 
14,400  feet  of  snowy  peak,  driving  away  all  sum- 
mer sultriness.  A  bath  in  the  medicinal  waters 
of  seven  minutes  and  then  a  pack  causes  the 
perspiration  to  flow  from  one  quite  as  heavily  as 
the  same  course  would  do  in  Arkansas.  Before 
leaving  home  I  had  a  large  and  painful  carbun- 
cle on  the  back  of  my  neck.  The  sign  of  the 
cross  was  cut  deeply  into  it,  and  as  it  healed  it 
proved  a  nest-egg  for  several  smaller  jewels  near 
by.  These  I  cauterized  with  pure  carbolic  in 
the  park,  but  still  they  annoyed  me  much.  Four 
baths  here  have  at  least  temporarily  dried  them 
up.  Men  who  came  here  three  or  four  weeks 


94  A   SUMMER  S    OUTING. 

ago  on  crutches  from  rheumatism,  are  walking 
about  freely  and  feel  themselves  able  to  buckle 
down  to  work. 

A    WONDERFUL   GROWTH    OF   TIMBER. 

A  sight  of  the  magnificent  cedar  and  fir  for- 
ests here  would  amply  repay  an  Easterner  for  a 
day's  stop-over.  I  have  been  among  them  before 
several  times,  yet  at  each  visit  they  surprise  me 
as  they  did  at  first.  Fifty  thousand  shingles  are 
made  from  a  single  cedar.  I  counted  twenty- one 
firs  on  a  space  considerably  less  than  a  quarter 
of  an  acre.  The  owner,  a  sawyer,  assured  me 
they  would  cut  over  five  thousand  feet  of  board 
each.  He  owns  a  quarter  of  a  section  about  his 
mill  and  expects  to  market  15,000,000  feet  of 
lumber  from  his  land.  He  said  the  railroad  com- 
pany had  cut  30,000,000  feet  from  its  right  of 
way  of  400  feet  by  ten  miles  in  this  locality.  I 
saw  on  a  quarter  of  an  acre  a  cluster  of  twenty 
odd  trees  from  four  and-a-half  feet  to  over  six  in 
diameter  and  300  high.  They  ran  up  about  150 
feet  before  reaching  a  limb.  Mighty  logs  lie 
upon  the  ground  so  thickly  that  even  a  good 
woodsman  can  walk  but  little  over  a  mile  an 
hour.  Cedar  logs,  moss-covered  and  sodden, 
stretch  100  feet  in  the  tangled  undergrowth,  and 
have  lain  there  so  long  that  one  often  sees  a  fir 
tree,  growing  with  its  roots  straddled  over  them 
50  to  100  years  old. 


TACOMA.  95 

We  were  pleased  to  find  among  the  guests  of 
the  springs  one  of  Chicago's  fairest  daughters, 
now  living  at  Tacoma,  whose  pulled-candy  tresses 
three  years  ago  out-glistened  the  fiber  of  her 
bridal  veil,  and  whose  eyes  are  bluer  than  the 
turquoise  in  her  talismanic  ring.  I  like  little 
unpretentious  Green  River,  Hot  Springs,  even  if 
its  table  is  not  of  the  Delmonico  order. 

MALT   LIQUORS   IN   THE   ORIGINAL   PACKAGE. 

A  pretty  drop  of  fourteen  hundred  and  odd 
feet  through  wild  rocky  gorges  and  thickly 
treed  glades,  along  the  rapid  green  waters  of  the 
river,  in  which  trout  abound,  between  lofty 
heights,  brought  us  to  the  world-famous  hop 
yards  of  the  Puyallup  Valley.  What  masses  of 
green  lift  upon  the  closely-set  hop-poles  !  I  in- 
voluntarily cried  "  Prosit  und  Gesundheit  "  as 
we  whizzed  through  them.  Twenty-three  or  four 
years  ago,  the  first  hop  root  was  planted  in  the 
soil  of  this  marvelous  valley.  Now  in  this  val- 
ley and  others  in  this  locality,  two  hundred  and 
fifty  thousand  acres  are  giving  forth  each  year 
<"rops  unknown  in  any  other  hop  land.  Two 
.housand  pounds  to  the  acre  are  not  unusual, 
and  some  yields  have  been  nearly  if  not  quite 
double  that.  Thousands  of  barrels  of  malt 
liquors  were  green  about  us  in  original  pack- 
ages. 


96  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

When  we  alighted  at  Tacoma,  from  which  I 
date  this  letter,  I  was  most  agreeably  surprised 
to  find  that  Mr.  Winston  and  his  two  fair  daugh- 
ters were  on  the  same  train.  They  had  intended 
going  with  us  into  the  Yellowstone  Park,  but 
were  unavoidably  detained.  They  have  done 
the  Park  more  rapidly  than  we  did  and  here 
overtook  us.  To-morrow  we  will  be  fellow-pas- 
sengers for  Uncle  Sam's  ice-bound  Eldorado, 
Alaska.  Tacoma  has  been  and  is  growing  with 
great  rapidity.  A  great  suburb  covers  a  wide 
slope  on  the  upper  end  of  the  town,  which  at 
night,  when  I  was  here  three  years  ago,  had  the 
appearance  of  a  Titanic  camp-fire.  Fires  gleamed 
along  great  logs  ;  fires  burnt  on  sides  and  tops 
of  lofty  stumps,  and  fires  belched  forth  from 
burning  trees  fifty  and  more  feet  from  the 
ground.  Diagonal  auger  holes  had  been  bored 
near  the  root  into  the  heart  of  a  tree.  Two 
holes  meet  at  the  heart  thus  causing  a  draught. 
Fire  was  put  in,  igniting  the  inflammable  pitch, 
always  richest  near  the  ground.  It  then  bored 
its  way  up  the  heart  to  break  out  as  from  a  flue, 
often  a  hundred  feet  from  the  roots. 

Tacoma  was  a  cluster  of  shanties  with  a  small 
population,  barely  among  the  thousands,  seven 
years  ago.  It  was  a  dusty,  scattered,  ungainly 
big  village  of  12,000  three  years  ago.  Now  the 
census  gives  it  about  40,000  population.  The 


TACOMA.  97 

Northern  Pacific  company  is  filling  the  five-mile 
flat  marsh  along  the  Puyallup  P.iver  which  emp- 
ties into  the  bay,  in  front  of  the  town.  A  large 
part  of  this  belongs  to  the  Indian  Reservation, 
and  is  covered  by  several  feet  of  water  during 
the  high  tides,  which  come  up  the  Sound.  The 
filling  is  being  done  by  a  powerful  pumping 
dredge,  which  pours  each  day  a  vast  quantity  of 
sand  and  silt  from  the  deeper  part  of  the  river 
upon  the  flats  to  be  filled.  My  friends  Christy 
and  Wise  of  the  Illinois  Club,  Chicago,  are  part 
owners  of  the  powerful  dredge,  and  I  suspect  are 
making  a  big  thing  of  it.  The  reclaimed  land 
will,  when  high  and  dry,  be  worth  millions,  and 
will  be  the  seat  of  the  best  business  portion  of 
the  future  city.  The  generous  way  in  which 
this  great  railroad  company  has  taken  possession 
of  and  is  appropriating  the  fat  of  this  place  re- 
minds one  forcibly  of  what  is  or  may  be  going 
on  in  a  city  between  this  and  the  Atlantic.  Co- 
lumbian World's  Fair  Commissioners,  Directors, 
and  City  Councils  may  possibly  be  sometimes 
just  a  little  too  generous,  as  Congresses  are  and 
have  been.  The  people  may  sometimes  permit 
their  patriotic  fervor  to  make  them  somewhat 
unobservant  of  the  wide  reach  and  tenacious 
grasp  of  monopoly.  Corporations  are  said  to 
have  no  souls.  Railroad  corporations  are  as 
voracious  as  their  iron  horses  and  have  con- 
sciences as  cold  as  their  iron  rails. 


98  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

The  big  hotel  here  is  now  crowded  with  trav- 
elers, the  most  of  them  just  returned  from  or 
about  to  sail  for  Alaska.  Cots  are  doubled  up 
in  many  rooms.  The  wide  veranda,  overlooking 
the  sound,  last  night  was  full  of  gay  pronie- 
naders  from  many  quarters  of  the  Union  ;  they 
enjoyed  very  fair  music  from  the  house  band, 
while  they  watched  with  delight  the  unique 
spectacle  of  what  appeared  to  be  a  new  moon 
arising  in  the  east  with  its  crescent  bent  down- 
ward instead  of  upward.  Fair  Luna  arose  to  us 
immediately  over  the  sharp  rounded  pinnacle  of 
lofty  Mount  Tacoma.  She  presented  a  narrow 
silver  crescent — a  mere  thread  at  first,  but  wax- 
ing by  a  rapid  crescendo  movement,  she  showed 
her  first,  her  second,  and  her  third  quarter,  and 
then  her  full  rounded  self  in  all  of  her  cold  glory 
many  degrees,  up  in  the  sky.  The  proud  moun- 
tain having  played  his  short  role  of  eclipsing  a 
planet  at  once  sank  into  gray  nothingness.  It 
seemed  a  pity  the  moon's  movement  was  so  rapid. 
She  is  a  cold,  frickle  jade  and  is  said  to  be 
from  rim  to  core  hard  in  eternal  frost.  It  was 
but  fitting  she  should  rest  awhile  on  yonder 
pinnacled  home  of  eternal  ice  and  snow. 

During  the  afternoon  of  yesterday  after  our 
arrival,  all  of  the  mountain's  lower  mass,  more 
than  two-thirds  of  its  height,  was  absolutely  in- 
visible, veiled  in  translucent,  unclouded  haze. 


TACOMA.  99 

No  one  could  have  guessed  a  mountain  was 
there,  but  high  up  some  four  to  five  thousand 
feet  of  his  ice-locked  lofty  summit  hung  like  a 
gigantic  ^balloon,  thinly  silvered  and  delicately 
burnished,  floating  on  airy  nothingness  some  ten 
degrees  above  the  horizon.  To  those  who  have 
never  seen  this  effect  of  a  snow-clad  mountain, 
the  picture  was  startling  and  to  all  was  weird  in 
the  extreme.  Few  mountain  chiefs  in  the  world 
are  seen  to  such  advantage  as  Tacoma  from  this 
point  on  a  clear  day.  The  beholder  standing  on 
a  level  of  the  sea  sees  the  whole  of  the  cone  in 
all  of  the  majesty  of  fourteen  thousand  four 
hundred  and  odd  feet,  over  6,000  feet  of  this  be- 
ing clothed  in  eternal  snow.  We  were  lucky  in 
seeing  the  floating  summit  yesterday,  for  a 
change  of  wind  has  since  then  brought  the 
smoke  from  forest  fires  down  into  the  valley  to- 
day, and  a  compass  is  necessary  to  fix  the  great 
mountain's  exact  location.  He  may  keep  him- 
self impenetrably  veiled  for  several  weeks.  If  I 
be  not  mistaken,  I  was  told  he  was  invisible  last 
year  for  nearly  if  not  quite  three  months. 

Mr.  Clint  Snowden,  the  Secretary  of  the  Board 
of  Trade,  has  been  our  cicerone,  as  the  board 
was  our  host,  in  showing  us  about  the  city  to- 
day. Its  growth  one  could  scarcely  comprehend 
from  the  information  as  the  increase  of  popula- 
tion. Seeing  has  shown  the  naked  truth.  The 


ioo  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

great  kindness  to  me  in  the  past  of  friends  in 
Seattle  has  made  me  rather  a  Seattler.  But  I 
tremble  lest  it  may  not  be  able  to  keep  pace  with 
its  pushing  rival.  Will  the  country  be  able  to 
support  two  big  cities  ?  I  have  great  faith  in 
the  country.  Three  years  ago  I  said  there  would 
be  a  mighty  empire  along  the  Pacific  slope — that 
is,  a  mighty  part  of  the  great  Nation  of  the 
continent.  Each  visit  here  more  and  more  im- 
presses me  that  my  prophecy  will  be  fulfilled. 
I  recalled  the  fact  that  we  once  thought  it  an 
outrage  that  "  the  Father  of  his  country  "  should 
have  his  state-namesake  off  in  an  out  of  the 
way  corner  of  the  country,  and  that  corner  a 
mountainous  mass  of  worthless  land;  but  now 
one  can  realize  that  Washington  will  be  the 
most  picturesque  state  in  the  Union,  and  when 
America  becomes  densely  populated,  it  will  be 
one  of  the  richest.  The  yield  of  all  kinds  ;  lum- 
ber, coal,  hops,  wheat  and  oats,  fish  and  fruits 
will  this  year  equal  that  of  many  of  the  eastern 
states.  The  state  will  ere  many  years  have  gone 
by,  prove  a  magnificent  namesake  of  the  Father 
of  his  country. 

Dust  is  one  of  the  most  serious  impedimenta 
of  the  Pacific  slope  ;  for  three  months  of  the 
year  it  makes  one's  throat  and  lungs  a  sort  of 
mortar  bed,  but  the  soil  which  so  easily  turns  to 
impalable  powder  and  in  such  quantities  as  to  be 


TACOMA.  IOI 

almost  solid  along  some  of  the  roads,  is  of  mar- 
velous richness.  The  trees  are  nearly  as  impos- 
ing monarchs  as  are  the  mountains  ;  the  flowers 
are  as  beautiful  as  the  rivers  are  clear  and 
pearly ;  the  fruits  are  glorious  and  the  climate 
is  delicious.  Though  the  noon-day  sun  is  so 
hot  as  to  make  a  broad-brimmed  hat  or  an  um- 
brella a  necessity,  yet  the  nights  are  so  cold  that 
one  gets  chilled  under  less  than  three  blankets. 
Speaking  of  fruits,  we  must  say  that  excepting 
in  the  Caucasus  the  world  has  no  equal  for  the 
cherries  of  this  locality — so  pulpy  and  so  big. 
A  peddler  selling  some,  captured  his  purchaser 
when  he  cried  out:  u  But,  then,  sir;  them's 
cherries,  not  apples."  While  writing  this  the 
sun  marches  deeply  into  the  West.  We  must 
soon  board  the  steamer  which  sails  before  day  to- 
morrow. 


LETTER  VI. 

THRIVING  AND  PICTURESQUE  SEATTLE.  TWO 
CURIOUS  MEETINGS.  VICTORIA  AND  ITS 
FLOWERS.  ESOUIMAULT  AND  THE  WARSPITE. 
TWO  BROKEN  HEARTED  GIRLS.  CHARMING 
SAIL  ON  THE  INLAND  SEA.  PICTURESQUE 
MOUNTAINS.  GROWTH  OF  ALASKA.  WHALES 
AND  THEIR  SPORTS.  NATIVE  ALASKANS. 
THEIR  HOMES,  HABITS,  FOOD,  FEASTS  AND 
WILD  MUSIC.  BASKETS  AND  BLANKETS.  SAL- 
MON FISHERIES.  MINES  AND  DOGS. 

STEAMER  QUEEN,  Aug.  10,  1890. 

I  wrote  voluminously  from  the  Yellowstone 
National  Park,  quite  at  large  on  the  run  on  the 
Northern  Pacific  railroad,  and  expected  to  make 
a  big  letter  on  the  Alaskan  excursion.  But  I 
am  discouraged.  If  all  the  pencils  seen  making 
copious  notes  and  extracting  from  route  and 
other  books  on  this  steamer  were  preparing  let- 
ters, and  if  a  like  proportion  on  the  other  regular 
steamers  do  the  same,  then  the  thing  will  be 
written  into  the  ground  during  this  season  alone. 
I  will,  however,  commence  a  short  letter;  the 
humor  of  my  pen  may  make  it  a  long  one. 

We  boarded  the  "Queen"  at  Tacoma  the  night 
of  the  3ist  of  July.  Before  morning  we  cleared 
the  port,  and  at  six  landed  at  Seattle  for  a  two 
hours  stop.  It  was  too  early  for  us  to  see  any  of 

102 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  103 

our  friends,  but  giving  us  time  to  mark  the  won- 
derful growth  of  the  last  three  years.  In  my 
last,  the  possibility  of  Tacoma  taking  the  lead  of 
Seattle  was  expressed.  When  one  sees  the  ele- 
gant houses  going  up  or  gone  up  here  since  the 
fire  of  a  year  ago ;  looks  over  the  hills  which 
were  three  years  since  clothed  with  forests  but 
now  are  covered  with  beautiful  residences  ;  drives 
over  paved  streets  where  he  so  short  a  time  since 
was  choked  by  dust ;  and  glides  in  cable  and 
electric  cars  smoothly  up  grades  which  make  a 
walk  laborious  and  caused  the  horses  in  his  car- 
riage to  pant  and  blow — when  one  sees  all  these 
things  and  recalls  the  pluck  of  these  people  when 
they  let  the  world  know  they  wanted  no  help 
from  outside  when  their  city  lay  in  ashes,  then 
he  feels  Tacoma  will  have  a  mighty  struggle  even 
with  the  Northern  Pacific's  help  to  catch  and 
lead  Seattle. 

The  Tacoma  people  claim  that  the  United 
States  census  gives  them  the  larger  population. 
This  the  Seattleite  denies,  and  I  suspect  with 
justice.  He  claims  his  city  will  have  over 
43,000  population,  all  within  the  compact  boun- 
daries of  the  town,  and  several  thousands  in  the 
suburbs.  Many  may  be  there  helping  to  build 
the  place  up  out  of  its  ashes.  The  greater  pro- 
portion of  them  will  probably  remain  perma- 
nently, for  Seattle  has  a  great  trade.  Before  the 


io4  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

fire  a  year  ago  it  was  rather  over  crowded.  The 
large  warehouses  and  hotels  now  gone  up,  are 
not  in  advance  of  the  demand.  I  was,  the  day 
before  while  driving  about  Tacoma,  almost  a 
Tacoma  man.  But  as  our  ship  bent  out  of  her 
rival's  harbor,  I  was  again  a  Seattler. 

The  view  of  the  city  perched  upon  its  terraced 
hills  is  very  imposing  from  the  bay,  and  recalls 
a  long  ago  prospect  from  the  sea  at  Genoa. 
While  the  Queen  was  steaming  out  of  the  bay 
into  the  open  sound,  I  mounted  to  the  hurricane 
deck  for  a  parting  view  of  the  picturesque  place. 
At  the  foot  of  the  upper  gang  way  I  paused  to 
let  a  gentleman  and  lady  pass  me  on  their  de- 
scent from  above.  The  gentleman  held  out  his 
hand  saying  "  Mr.  Harrison,  I  think ;  we  never 
met  but  once  before.  We  were  vis-a-vis  at  the 
dinner  table  in  Colombo,  Ceylon.  My  wife  and  I 
had  just  landed  from  the  "  Rome  "  on  our  way 
from  Australia.  You  were  about  to  embark  on 
her  for  Suez."  Indeed  if  I  be  not  mistaken  I 
got  the  state  room  he  had  vacated.  Mr.  Sargent 
and  his  wife,  had  a  few  days  ago  arrived  at  San 
Francisco  from  Japan  and  were  then  on  their 
way  to  Alaska  before  going  to  their  home  in 
New  Haven,  from  which  they  had  been  absent 
for  several  years.  This  meeting  made  a  singu- 
lar co-incidence  with  another  of  the  day  before 
at  Tacoma.  As  I  was  crossing  the  rotunda  of 


NORTHERN    PACIFIC    OCEAN.  105 

the  Tacoma  hotel,  a  stranger  accosted  me,  and 
at  the  same  time  held  out  his  hand,  saying 
"This  is  Mr.  Harrison  of  Chicago,  is  it  not?"  I 
replied  "Yes".  "We  never  met  but  once  Mr. 
Harrison,  and  that  was  at  the  supper  table  at 
Agra,  India.  We  sat  side  by  side  and  talked  of 
the  Taj."  This  gentleman  was  from  New  York 
and  was  too,  on  his  way  to  Alaska.  He  had  just 
come  from  the  East  and  had  expected  to  sail  on 
the  Queen,  but  not  being  able  to  secure  a  berth, 
was  about  to  go  aboard  the. George  W.  Elder, 
which  had  been  crippled  on  a  rock  the  week 
before,  and  sailed  from  Tacoma  the  evening  of 
the  3 1 st.  It  was  pleasant  thus  to  meet  these 
people — utter  strangers  to  each  other,  whom  I 
had  encountered  on  the  other  side  of  the  world. 
It  is  remarkable  how  often  such  chance  meetings 
come  to  voyagers  in  distant  regions.  It  shows 
how  the  love  of  travel  grows  upon  one.  Seeing 
begets  a  desire  for  seeing.  A  large  number  of 
our  fellow  passengers  on  this  excursion  have 
been  world  wanderers. 

We  tied  to  the  pier  at  Port  Townsend  for  a 
couple  of  hours.  We  had  time  for  a  hasty  run  over 
the  town  and  to  measure  the  march  of  its  improve- 
ment during  the  past  three  years.  It  has  grown 
very  considerably  and  improved  much.  Its  people 
make  huge  calculations  as  to  its  future,  but  have  no 
expectation  of  their  town  being  a  rival  of  the  other 


io6  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

two  cities.  It  has  been  the  port  of  entry  for  the 
Soundv  which  has  given  it  considerable  advan- 
tages. This  exclusive  privilege  it  will  hereafter 
have  to  share  with  one  or  both  of  the  others. 
Back  of  it  lies  the  unexplored  Olympian  moun- 
tains, in  which  many  think  rich  gold  mines  will 
be  found.  If  this  should  be  the  case,  then  Port 
Townsend  will  forge  ahead. 

Our  far  northern  excursion  is  now  coining  to 
a  close.  We  have  done  Alaska  and  are  again 
sailing  through  British  waters.  Vancouver  Isle 
stretches  to  our  right.  We  can  easily  imagine 
that  a  turn  of  a  headland  may  reveal  the  War- 
spite,  with  her  guns,  throwing  3OO-pound  shot, 
ready  to  knock  us  into  pi  should  our  Yankee  in- 
clinations tempt  us  to  give  a  too  short  twist  on 
the  lion's  tail.  By  the  way,  the  ironclad  bearer 
of  the  Admiral's  broad  pennant,  is  a  ferocious 
looking  monster. 

Having  three  hours  at  our  command  before 
dark  on  our  arrival  at  Victoria  the  first  of 
the  month,  we  drove  about  the  staid  and 
orderly  town,  drinking  in  air  laden  with  the 
breath  of  honeysuckle  embowering  lattice  and 
cottage  ;  exclaiming  in  delight  at  sight  of  roses 
hanging  in  mighty  clusters  and  festooning 
porches  and  verandas,  or  lifting  their  faces  six 
inches  from  out  to  out  on  strong  stems  in  the 
gardens  ;  and  having  our  eyes  refreshed  by  par- 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  107 

terres  of  dahlias,  nasturtiums,  feverfews,  and 
many  delicate  flowers  in  white  or  of  every  tint. 
This  town  was  evidently  settled  directly  from 
England.  The  love  evinced,  for  cottage  adorn- 
ment would  have  been  lost  in  a  passage  through 
the  Canuck  settlements  of  the  East.  The  sweet 
embowered  cottage  is  an  English  institution, 
as  thoroughly  as  is  "magna  charta."  Wherever 
either  exists  we  know  it  to  be  a  heritage  from 
the  seagirt  isle. 

THE    FAIRY-LIKE     HARBOR   OF    THE    BRITISH 
FLEET. 

Our  drive  brought  us  about  six  o'clock  to  Es- 
quimault,  the  fairy-like  harbor  of  the  British 
fleet  of  the  North  Pacific.  What  a  little  gem  it 
is !  A  rounded  patch  of  sea,  a  few  hundred 
yards  in  diameter,  lifted  up  and  dropped  thirty 
fathoms  deep  among  well-wooded,  sloping  hills 
and  connected  by  a  short,  deep  channel  less  than 
a  hundred  feet  wide,  with  the  mighty  ocean. 
This  channel  is  in  fact  a  gateway  with  smooth 
granite  buttresses,  of  bowlder-like  surface,  lift- 
ing a  few  feet  above  high  tide.  These  buttres- 
ses were  built  by  no  human  hand,  but  were  born 
of  the  molten  mass  poured  up  from  the  earth's 
fiery  center.  The  very  globe  shook  and  reeled 
in  volcanic  spasms  at  their  birth.  Here,  in  this 
quiet  little  harbor,  thoroughly  protected  from 


io8  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

the  outer  sea,  lay  the  fearful  man  of  war  War- 
spite,  a  sleeping  Titan,  surrounded  by  several 
others  less  formidable,  but  yet  of  ugly  dimen- 
sions. Close  by  the  entrance  of  the  harbor  is  a 
great  dry  dock,  in  which  American  vessels  have 
been  courteously  repaired.  Near  this  is  a  little 
hamlet  where  one  can  get  a  fair  meal  and  can 
take  rowing  boat  to  visit  the  great  ships. 

The  drive  from  town  to  the  harbor  is  very 
charming;  through  pretty  woods,  on  good  roads, 
overlooking  green  arms  of  the  sea  which  run 
back  into  the  hills,  in  crystal  clearness.  One 
can  well  say  these  sea-creeks  run  back  into  the 
hills,  for  the  incoming  tides  send  currents  up 
them  of  great  strength.  Pretty  villas  are  built 
along  the  well  kept  roads,  and  acres  of  wild  roses 
scent  the  air,  while  the  red  barked  Arbutis  leans 
over  the  cool  streams  with  knarled  bronze  like 
arms  and  branches.  The  excursion  steamers  all 
anchor  at  Victoria  long  enough  to  permit  tour- 
ists to  take  this  and  other  drives. 

When  we  reached  the  neighborhood  of  the 
man-of-war,  it  was  so  late  that  we  had  no  expec- 
tation of  going  aboard,  but  our  hackman  desirous 
of  putting  in  as  much  time  as  possible,  and  a 
boatsman  in  want  of  a  job  assured  us  we  would 
be  received  aboard  the  Warspite.  A  large  num- 
ber of  her  600  complement  were  leaning  over 


NORTHERN    PACIFIC    OCEAN.  109 

the  bulwarks,  and  gold  lace  and  brass  buttons 
shone  upon  the  eyes  of  our  two  young  girls. 
Their  little  hearts  fluttered  as  no  glacier  of  the 
Arctic  zone  could  have  made  them  do.  Ah! 
what  a  wondrous  spell  the  glitter  on  the  shoul- 
ders of  soldier  or  sailor  works  upon  the  female 
heart!  Even  the  married  woman  of  our  party 
had  a  heightened  color  as  we  approached  the 
gangway  of  the  mighty  ship.  Fancy  the  two 
broken  hearts  of  the  girls  and  the  composed,  sad 
face  of  the  matron  when  a  sailor  came  down  the 
gangway  to  inform  us  the  hour  for  visitors  was 
past,  that  no  one  was  received  after  five  o'clock. 
One  of  the  men  of  our  party  told  him  the  next 
time  we  came  we  would  board  his  ship  from  the 
deck  of  the ''Chicago."  He  laughed.  There  is 
no  taint  of  a  quarrel  between  the  brave  tars  of 
an  English  and  an  American  man-of-war.  We 
rowed  slowly  away.  The  music  from  the  band 
poured  down  upon  us  from  the  decks  and  was 
caught  in  sweel^  echo  by  the  hills  around.  How 
I  pitied  the  girls  !  They  are  just  on  the  edge  of 
society,  and  what  tales  they  could  have  told  their 
schoolmates  !  Chicago's  late  representative  at 
the  Court  of  the  Shah  of  Persia  smiled  as  only 
one  who  had  been  at  a  court  could  smile.  But 
the  girls  uttered  sighs  which  smote  the  writer's 
too  sympathetic  soul. 


no  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

WHEN   WE   GOBBLE   UP   CANADA. 

The  Warspite  lies  at  Esquimault  (up  here 
called  Squimal)  ready  to  shake  the  icebergs  of 
Behring  Sea.  A  word  to  President  Harrison  and 
Secretary  Elaine  :  Don't  tell  England  that  our 
blood  is  up  to  fighting  heat,  until  we  are  ready 
to  gobble  down  Canada  and  the  Canadian  Pacific 
railway  at  a  mouthful.  It  can  be  done  and  not 
at  the  expense  of  a  very  wry  face.  Then  let 
England  roam  about  the  oceans  to  her  hearts 
content,  while  we  Yankees  will  play  base-ball 
with  a  continent  for  our  grounds,  with  basemen 
and  shortstops  between  the  two  oceans,  and  out- 
fielders on  the  Gulf  of  Mexico  and  the  Arctic 
seas. 

SAILING   THROUGH   THE   ISLES   OF   THE    PACIFIC. 

We  are  now  on  our  tenth  day  from  Tacoma. 
The  ship  will  reach  her  home  Tuesday,  the 
twelfth  day,  having  sailed  over  2,100  miles  ; 
some  ten  hours  of  this  was  in  the  open  Pacific, 
from  Glacier  Bay  to  Sitka,  and  then  from  that 
port  south  to  Clarence  Strait.  The  remainder 
of  the  distance  was  in  the  interior  channels,  and 
across  perhaps  a  half-dozen  short  openings  into 
the  sea.  The  several  channels  have  fixed  names 
and  are  of  various  breadths,  from  200  or  300 
yards  to  four  or  five  miles.  Sometimes  we  were 
next  the  broad  continent,  but  often  small  islands 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  Ill 

lay  between  the  straits  and  the  mainland,  with 
large  islands  or  smaller  ones  several  deep,  to- 
wards the  sea.  The  sailing  along  the  watery 
road  was  plain  and  easy  except  in  two  narrow 
straits,  where  the  ship  had  to  slow  np  frequently, 
while  she  bent  in  and  ont  to  avoid  rocks.  These 
are  taken  partly  as  cut-offs  and  partly  for  the 
beauty  of  the  scenery.  The  islands  are  all 
mountains  lifted  from  the  water  ;  all  are  more  or 
less  tree-clad,  with  peaks  on  the  tallest,  rocky, 
jagged,  and  oftentimes  with  streamers  of  snow 
stretching  downward  in  their  npper  gorges. 

Vancouver  Island  is  300  miles  long,  covered 
by  a  broad,  lofty  range  of  mountains  in  pile  be- 
hind pile,  broken  and  in  some  instances  with 
heads  wrapped  in  perpetual  snow.  North  of 
this  along  the  way  are  four  irregularly  shaped 
long  islands,  around  each  of  which  a  good 
steamer  would  require  nearly  a  day  to  sail. 
These,  too,  are  a  mass  of  rugged,  jagged,  sharply 
pointed  and  peaked  mountains  in  very  confused 
mass,  with  no  valleys,  but  with  narrow  gorges 
and  small  flats,  along  many  of  which  pour  pel- 
lucid streams  from  snowy  heights.  Seen  from 
the  south,  the  mountains  are  green  up  to  a 
height  of  two  or  more  thousand  feet,  with  rock'y 
summits  flecked  with  snow  or  banded  in  the 
long  downward  gorges.  Viewed  from  the  north, 
the  snow  often  lies  in  broad  fields  and  always  is 


ii2  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

in  greater  profusion  then  when  seen  from  other 
points  of  the  compass.  The  smaller  island 
mountains  are  not  so  lofty,  but  are  beyond  the 
dignity  of  hills,  being  from  1,500  to  2,000  and 
some  of  them  3,000  feet  high. 

AWE-INSPIRING    MOUNTAINS. 

To  the  eastward  the  mainland  presents  one 
continuous  mass  of  mountains ;  never  in  even 
ranges,  but  all  broken,  toothed  and  needled,  with 
foothills  next  the  water  green  and  rounded. 
The  loftier  masses  behind  shoot  their  rocky 
height  into  the  blue  sky  from  3,000  to  nearly 
5,000  feet  above  the  sea.  Flecks  and  bands  of 
snow  are  never  absent  from  these,  and  often  the 
smooth  upper  heights  are  wrapped  in  pure  man- 
tles of  white. 

Into  the  mainland  enter  many  crooked,  deep 
inlets  antlered  in  form,  the  counterparts  of  the 
fiords  of  Norway  with  this  difference,  those  of 
Norway  have  generally  lofty  precipices  lifting 
directly  from  the  water  ;  here  there  are  fewer 
precipices.  The  mountains,  however,  lift  up 
very  steep,  with  wooded  slopes,  but  permitting 
their  pinnacles  to  be  seen.  Some  prospectors 
abroad  told  us  that  the  scenery  on  these  fiords 
was  majestic  in  the  extreme.  And  well  it  may 
be,  for  nearly  all  of  the  inlets  are  flanked  by 
notched  and  peaked  mountains,  shooting  into 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN. 

the  sky  with  shoulders  and  necks  wrapped  in 
eternal  frosts.  When  our  great  Republic  shall 
have  its  boundary  lines  marked  only  by  oceans 
and  seas,  then  these  bold  highlands  should  be 
set  apart  as  a  continental  park  for  the  free  peo- 
ple of  the  Western  hemisphere. 

The  mountains  of  both  mainland  and  islands 
are  thoroughly  picturesque,  with  rugged  upper 
members  topped  out  in  sharp  points  and  rocky 
pinnacles,  such  as  are  seen  nowhere  in  the  old 
states  of  our  country  and  but  rarely  in  the  new 
ones  or  in  any  of  the  old  Territories.  There  are 
no  deciduous  or  hardwood  trees,  and  but  few 
hardwood  shrubs.  Firs,  balsams,  and  hemlocks 
cover  the  mountain  sides,  and  cedars  sometimes 
are  seen  in  the  small  flats  next  the  sea  or  up  the 
gullies.  The  forests  on  mountains  slopes  are  of 
small  trees,  and  no  track  of  the  fire  fiend  is  ever 
seen.  The  air  is  so  humid  along  the  entire  outer 
sea  coast  from  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia  to 
Behring  Strait  that  one  cannot  avail  himself  of 
forest  fires  to  help  clear  the  land.  Should  the 
trees  be  deadened  and  fall,  they  would  lie  sodden 
and  wet  until  destroyed  by  sluggish  rot,  while 
tangled  undergrowth  and  young  forests  would 
spring  up  in  almost  impenetrable  maze.  On 
many  mountain  slopes  more  than  half  of  the 
trees  are  dead  but  still  standing,  while  often  are 
seen  great  belts  of  bare,  dead  trunks,  with  not  a 


ii4  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

single  live  one,  but  a  green  carpet  of  fresh  after- 
growth spreading  over  the  ground.  The  soil  is 
so  thin  upon  the  rocky  mass  of  the  mountain 
that  sustenance  is  not  afforded  for  any  but  young 
and  vigorous  forests.  After  a  few  years'  growth 
the  living  die  to  make  a  soil  for  larger  ones  to 
come.  Thus  ever  do  the  young  feed  upon  the 
old.  A  man  works,  accumulates  and  dies,  for 
his  children  to  feed  upon  his  hoarded  fat,  per- 
haps to  squander  it  in  riotous  living.  One  fre- 
quently sees  here  the  footprints  of  avalanches 
which  have  swept  the  accumulations  of  long 
years,  trees  and  soil,  into  the  sea  or  gorges,  leav- 
ing the  rock  bare  as  it  was  in  its  primal  up- 
heaval. So,  too,  misfortunes  and  unavoidable 
shocks  sweep  away  the  heritage  of  worthy  sous 
from  worthy  sires. 

THE   RUINS    OF    MIGHTY    FORESTS. 

On  the  more  gentle  slopes  and  in  the  small 
valleys  of  Alaska,  fallen  timber  builds  up  a  rich 
soil.  The  trees,  however,  lie  for  many  years 
piled  one  upon  another,  the  newer  upon  the 
older,  and  all  heavily  covered  with  moss  and 
yielding  to  slow  decay.  When  decayed,  they 
make  a  soil  so  uneven  in  surface  that  a  walk 
over  it  is  an  arduous  task.  When  a  tree  falls  it 
lies  and  moulders  for  long  years  ;  heavy,  rich 
moss  wraps  it  as  in  thick  blankets.  In  this  way 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  115 

the  ground  becomes  covered  by  hummocks  sev- 
eral feet  high.  These  hummocks  are  as  thick 
as  graves  in  an  old  cemetery.  We  saw  an  up- 
turned tree  back  of  Sitka  ten  to  twelve  feet  in 
diameter  some  distance  from  its  roots.  Saplings 
ten  inches  in  diameter  were  growing  among  its 
upturned  roots  fifteen  feet  from  the  ground. 
Moss  six  inches  thick  lay  like  a  winding  sheet 
about  the  trunk.  Half  of  the  lower  trunk  had 
been  slabbed  off,  I  suspect  by  natives  for  ma- 
terial for  their  carved  wood  work,  for  it  was 
perfectly  sound. 

Another  large  tree  lay  prone  at  great  length. 
A  fir  over  three  feet  in  diameter  was  sitting 
astride  it,  sending  its  roots  down  to  the 
ground  on  either  side.  A  trail  running  across 
it  made  it  necessary  to  cut  down  into  the  old 
trunk.  The  wood  left  at  the  bottom  was  per- 
fectly sound.  Again  I  saw  a  large  tree  perched 
some  feet  np  upon  an  old  stump,  its  roots 
having  found  the  ground  down  in  the  hollow. 
The  majority  of  the  large  trees  on  the  flats 
have  grotesque  trunks  for  several  feet  from 
the  ground,  showing  that  they  had  been  dis- 
torted by  old  trunks,  in  whose  moss-covered 
sides  the  seed  from  which  they  sprang  had  ger- 
minated. The  air  is  so  full  of  moisture  that 
moss  soon  covers  a  fallen  tree  and  furnishes  the 
best  bed  for  sprouting  the  delicate  seed  of 


n6  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

coniferae.  The  expense  of  clearing  such  land  as 
might  be  fitted  for  cultivation  will  retard  for 
a  long  time  any  agricultural  pursuits  in  Alaska. 
A  well-posted  man  assured  me  it  would  cost  $600 
per  acre. 

Live  stock  would  thrive  here  if  lands  could 
be  opened.  Grasses  are  rich  and  luxuriant, 
and  the  few  horses  and  cows  seen  were  sleek 
and  fat.  But  I  do  not  think  from  what 
we  saw  and  heard  that  either  as  an  agricul- 
tural or  as  a  grazing  country  Alaska  ever  will 
or  can  be  a  success.  Cauliflowers,  lettuce,  pota- 
toes, and  several  other  garden  vegetables  looked 
well  at  Sitka  and  Fort  Wrangel  but  in  small 
patches.  A  few  beds  of  poppies  and  daisies  were 
very  fine,  and  several  other  flowers  were 
brightly  yellow  in  the  little  gardens. 

"  THERE   SHE    BLOWS  !  " 

We  have  had  charming  weather — the  Captain 
says  the  best  trip  of  the  season.  Several  of  our 
passengers  give  your  correspondent  credit  for 
being  the  mascot  of  the  party — a  compliment 
very  complacently  accepted.  The  good,  sunny 
days  have  not  only  enabled  us  to  enjov  hugely 
the  beautiful  and  often  sublime  scenery,  but 
have  given  us  many  opportunities  for  studying 
some  of  the  mannerisms  of  the  leviathans  of  the 
deep.  We  have  seen  many  whales,  several 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  117 

times  ten  to  twenty  at  once,  and  at  close  range. 
They  rolled  themselves  in  grand  dignity  tip  out 
of  the  water  a  few  hundred  yards  from  us,  and, 
slowly  bending,  threw  their  flukes  several  feet 
into  the  air.  Then  they  would  spurt  great  geys- 
ers ten  or  more  feet  high,  making  a  noise  not  un- 
like that  made  by  elephants  when  blowing  dust 
over  themselves,  but  far  louder.  Indeed,  when 
some  blew  a  hundred  yards  away  from  us,  it 
sounded  like  a  somewhat  continuous  emission 
from  a  steam  stack. 

To-day  several  fine  fellows  were  very  near 
us,  and  one  apparently  young  one  threw  him- 
self several  feet  entirely  into  the  air.  He 
seemed  from  twelve  to  eighteen  feet  long. 
The  passengers  thought  it  a  baby  whale  sport- 
ing for  the  amusement  of  its  dam.  But  a  glass 
happening  to  catch  him  on  the  fly  it  was  discov- 
ered he  had  a  decided  snout.  Some  of  us  then 
decided  it  to  be  a  Greenland  shark,  which  has 
an  underjaw  provided  with  very  sharp,  rather 
protruding  teeth,  with  which  it  scoops  out  of  a 
whale  great  chunks  of  blubber.  Close  by  where 
it  leaped  a  large  whale  lifted  its  fluke  almost 
perpendicularly  out  of  the  water  and  thrashed  it 
into  foam.  This  was  kept  up  for  several  hun- 
dred yards  till  we  got  too  far  away  to  see  it  well. 
This  we  are  told  is  sometimes  done  in  a  kind  of 
wanton  sport,  but  I  suspect  in  this  instance  the 


n8  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

monster  was  trying  to  defend  itself  from  one  of 
its  inveterate  enemies.  At  any  rate  our  passen- 
gers were  afforded  a  very  unusual  sight. 

THE   NATIVE   ALASKANS. 

Of  the  animated  nature,  however,  exhibited 
for  our  amusement  and  study,  the  native  Alas- 
kans  were  the  most  interesting  part.  They  are 
very  improperly  called  Indians,  being  of  a  dis- 
tinct race  from  the  American  red  men.  I  went 
into  several  shacks  or  native  houses.  They  are 
built  by  the  natives,  and  under  no  outside  advice 
or  architectural  interference.  I  saw  the  manner 
of  arrangement  of  their  little  stock  of  furniture. 
I  saw  them  preparing  their  food  and  eating  their 
meals  ;  heard  them  talk,  and  watched  the  play 
of  their  features  when  trading  and  when  having 
some  sport.  I  thought  I  saw  cropping  out 
everywhere  decided  Japanese  characteristics.  It 
is  difficult  to  name  or  enumerate  the  points  of 
resemblance.  But  they  exist,  and  are  to  me  far 
more  marked  than  any  resemblance  between  the 
Japanese  and  the  Chinese,  who  are  supposed  by 
most  ethnologists  to  be  of  cognate  families.  These 
people  are  to  me  degraded  descendants  of  the 
land  of  the  rising  sun  who  entered  America 
through  the  Aleutian  Isles. 

The  Alaskan  shacks  are  generally  located 
near  the  water,  in  somewhat  orderly  rows,  one 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  119 

behind  the  other.  They  usually,  as  far  as  I 
could  see,  consist  of  a  single  room  occupying  the 
entire  house.  At  or  near  the  center  of  the  build- 
ing is  a  square,  covered  with  dirt  when  the 
house  is  raised  up,  or  if  the  house  be  low  down, 
then  on  the  ground,  whereon  the  fire  burns. 
Around  this  square  is  a  somewhat  raised 
platform,  as  in  a  Japanese  house;  on  this,  the 
different  members  of  the  family,  or  the  several 
families  have  their  separate  locations,  with  their 
boxes,  beds  and  other  individual  property.  Fre- 
quently the  room  is  thirty  to  forty  feet  square, 
and  houses  ten,  twenty,  and  often  forty  or  more 
people.  These  are  members  of  a  large  family  or 
of  a  sub-tribe.  By  the  way  a  woman  is  fre- 
quently chief  of  a  tribe,  and  one  reads  over  the 
door  in  large  letters  the  name  of  "Blank  (a 
woman)  chief."  The  Indians  seem  to  evince  a 
sort  of  boastfulness  in  the  numberings  on  their 
houses,  which  at  Sitka  run  from  3,000  or  4,000 
up  to  five  and  six.  It  is  barely  possible  this  may 
be  a  part  of  a  S3'stem  of  enumeration  running 
through  several  colonies  or  tribes,  and  through- 
out the  land  wherever  such  tribes  live.  But  a 
white  man  living  in  the  territory  told  us  it  arose 
from  the  native  desire  to  look  big  and  to  appear 
as  one  of  a  great  multitude. 

The   individual    possessions   of  the  different 
members  of  a  family,  are  kept  in  boxes  and  piled 


i2o  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

upon  them.  I  looked  into  several  of  these  boxes. 
Every  thing-  was  thrown  in  pell-mell — shoes, 
skins,  scarfs,  tools,  pails  and  even  iron  pots  and 
axes.  The  packing  of  a  box  looked  as  if  it  had 
been  done  in  a  hurry.  The  women  and  children 
when  indoors  were  found,  except  at  meal  time, 
squatted  about  the  several  platforms.  When  at 
meals  they  were  huddled  on  their  haunches  on 
the  earthen  square  about  the  open  fire.  There 
are  no  chimneys  to  the  houses.  The  fire  being 
built  in  the  center  of  the  squares,  the  smoke  goes 
out  as  in  Japan  through  openings  in  the  center 
of  the  roof,  and  to  a  considerable  extent  through 
the  doors.  About  and  above  the  openings  in  the 
roof  are  a  sort  of  screen  which  may  be  shifted  ac- 
cording to  the  direction  of  the  wind. 

In  several  small  shacks  at  Juneau,  old  fash- 
ioned iron  stoves  were  seen,  with  stove  pipes 
leading  above  the  roof.  The  inside  of  a  shack  is 
an  omnium  gatherum,  not  only  of  people  of  both 
sexes  and  of  all  ages,  but  of  fishing  nets,  axes 
and  saws,  boat  paddles,  and  blocks  on  which 
wooden  work  was  being  done.  Dried  fish  and 
pelts  stretched  are  on  the  walls  and  hanging 
from  the  roof  poles. 

The  natives  are  very  dark  and  swarthy,  and 
have  rather  a  yellow  tinge  in  their  complexions 
than  red;  have  large  heads  and  huge,  broad, 
flat,  stolid  faces,  long  bodies,  short,  ill-shaped 


NORTHERN    PACIFIC   OCEAN.  121 

legs,  and  ungainly  gaits.  The  habit  of  squat- 
ting when  a.t  rest,  and  when  propelling  their 
canoes  and  fishing,  has  developed  unduly  the 
upper  body  at  the  great  expense  of  the  lower 
limbs.  They  obtain  their  livelihood  from  the 
sea,  and  spend  much  more  than  half  of  their 
waking  hours  in  their  dugouts.  They  have  no 
thwarts  in  their  canoes  to  sit  upon,  but  squat 
down  upon  the  bottom,  or  bend  on  their  knees. 
This  causes  the  legs  to  dwindle  when  young  and 
to  become  decidedly  crooked.  This,  too,  is  the 
cause  of  their  decidedly  shambling  gait  when 
walking.  They  do  not  look  bright,  but  are 
skilled  in  all  things  they  understand,  and  learn 
with  great  rapidity,  not  by  imitation  as  the  Chi- 
nese do,  but  from  inborn  aptitude  like  that  of  the 
Japanese.  Their  blankets,  made  of  the  wool  of 
the  mountain  goat,  are  marvels  of  closely  woven 
fabrics,  and  their  baskets  of.  a  kind  of  tough 
grass  are  as  close  as  the  finest  Panama  hats  and 
very  harmoniously  colored.  They  carve  fairly  in' 
wood,  their  totems  and  small  ware  being  quite 
artistic.  In  silver  ornamentation  they  excel. 
Blankets  are  the  medium  of  exchange  ;  not  the 
native  ornamental  blankets,  but  those  introduced 
by  the  Hudson  Bay  people.  The  old  traders 
bought  furs,  and  pelts,  paying  for  them  in 
woolen  blankets.  A  pile  of  furs  was  worth  so 
many  blankets.  From  what  I  can  learn  the  skill 


122  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

of  a  native  trader  has  always  been  in  his  ability 
to  demand  a  large  number  of  blankets  for  his 
goods,  and  then  to  maintain  as  long  as  possible 
the  stolidity  of  his  countenance,  during  the  hig- 
gling necessary  to  meet  the  views  of  the  shrewd 
Hudson  Bay  fellow.  About  the  places  we  visited 
only  silver  coin  is  taken  in  trade,  and  a  native 
man  or  woman  rarely  drops  a  peg  from  the  price 
first  demanded. 

THE    HOME    AT   SITKA. 

At  a  school,  u  The  Home,"  in  Sitka,  under  the 
control  of  a  church  organization  in  the  States, 
are  a  large  number  of  girls  and  boys  of  all  sizes. 
They  are  neat,  intelligent  in  feature,  recite 
fluently  and  feelingly  simple  speeches  and 
verses,  and  sing  sweetly  and  as  if  they  felt  not 
only  the  sense  but  the  harmony  of  their  hymns. 
A  band  of  twenty  youths  plays  brass  instru- 
ments well  and  with  great  precision  in  time. 
'They  have  all  pleasant  low  voices  and  the  girls 
exceedingly  sweet  ones.  I  noticed  the  same 
characteristics  among  some  wholely  uneducated 
and  semi-savage  women  when  singing  to  a  wild 
uncouth  dance  of  the  men. 

A  party  of  about  sixty  of  a  certain  family  re- 
turned in  canoes  from  ber^ing  while  we  were  in 
Sitka.  They  went  through  uncouth  motions 
while  in  the  boats  and  then  danced  in  savage 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  123 

grotesqueness  on  the  shore,  where  they  were  re- 
ceived by  the  men  and  women  of  other  families 
in  wild  glee.  It  was  a  berry  "  potlach  "  or  feast. 
The  women's  voices  could  be  heard  singing  in 
low,  weird  but  sweet  monotone.  After  dancing 
and  distributing  pieces  of  calico  among  certain 
of  the  berrying  people,  a  party  of  over  a  hun- 
dred entered  a  large  shack,  closing  the  door  to 
us  white  outsiders.  There  they  went  through 
some  long  ceremonies.  I  managed  to  get  inside 
and  for  a  few  minutes  was  not  disturbed.  All 
were  squatted  around  the  great  room,  in  the 
center  of  which  was  a  fire,  the  smoke  going  out 
of  an  aperature  in  the  roof.  When  I  entered  all 
were  singing  in  so  low  a  tone  that  it  could  al- 
most be  termed  crooning.  The  whole  thing  was 
'weird  and  wild,  but  the  singing  was  not  lacking 
in  untutored  melody.  Some  other  tourists  see- 
ing me  get  in  also  entered,  opening  the  door  so 
widely  that  the  wind  drove  the  smoke  back  into 
the  room.  A  sort  of  head  man  who  was  next 
the  fire  leading  the  song,  got  angry — gave  the 
word,  when  all  got  up  hurriedly,  and  each  tak- 
ing a  large  basket  or  bowl  full  of  berries  went 
off  to  their  respective  homes. 

From  what  I  could  learn,  a  whole  sub-tribe 
takes  boats  and  visits  some  locality  possibly  a 
day  or  more's  sail  away,  where  the  berry  crop  is 
known  to  be  good.  They  remain  until  their 


124  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

canoes  are  well  filled.  When  they  return  some 
of  the  men  stand  np  in  the  canoes  arrayed  in 
showy  colored  calico  or  other  bright  stuff — and 
shout  and  sing  and  wildly  gesticulate.  By  this, 
those  in  the  village  at  once  understand  whether 
or  not  the  excursion  has  been  successful.  In 
accordance  therewith  the  returning  party  is  met 
on  the  landing.  If  unsuccessful  with  dirges  and 
lamentations.  If  successful  with  a"  "potlatch," 
a  species  of  joyous  fete. 

The  party  we  saw  were  in  high  feather.  Be- 
dizened fellows  stood  in  the  prows  of  the  boats, 
going  through  gesticulations  and  contortions 
which,  had  they  been  white  men,  would  have 
overturned  the  treacherous  dugouts.  They 
shouted  and  chanted  in  wild  glee.  Their  songs 
were  returned  from  the  shore.  There  were  forty 
to  sixty  in  the  returning  party.  As  soon  as 
their  keels  touched  the  strand,  they  poured  out, 
a  few  in  uncouth  antics,  but  the  bulk  of  them  in 
solemn  decorousness.  When  landed  one  two  or 
more  sang  in  wild  weird  tones,  the  women- join- 
ing in  the  chorus.  After  going  through  certain 
formalities,  presents  were  given  to  members  of 
the  returning  party,  of  coin,  and  of  strips  or 
pieces  one  or  more  yards  long  of  calico  in  red  or 
other  bright  colors.  Then  the  singing  was  con- 
tinued, and  the  berries  were  removed  from  the 
canoes  and  carried  into  a  large  shack  where 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  125 

other  ceremonies  were  gone  through.  No  white 
people  were  allowed  to  enter.  A  couple  of  na- 
tives stood  guard  at  the  door,  and  grufly  if  not 
angrily  turned  off  all  who  attempted  to  gain  in- 
gress. The  ceremonies  were  continued  within 
for  two  or  three  hours.  It  was  at  the  later  end 
of  this  that  I  gained  admission,  as  above  stated, 
while  the  attention  of  the  guards  was  removed. 

The  whole  thing  seemed  very  ridiculous,  es- 
pecially when  one  remembered  that  at  best  only 
a  few  bushels  of  huckleberries  were  the  occasion 
of  the  rejoicing.  Our  Grecco-maniacs,  however, 
should  not  deem  the  thing  small.  For  accord- 
ing to  Homer,  the  immediate  success  of  the  dem- 
igods of  Greece — the  heroes  who  gyrated  in  that 
wonderful  tempest-in-a-tea-pot,  the  Trojan  war, 
did  quite  as  silly  things  over  just  as  pitiful  suc- 
cesses. After  all,  too,  it  is  not  the  size  of  a 
thing  which  makes  it  valuable,  but  the  size  the 
possessor  thinks  it  possesses.  A  bushel  of  huck- 
leberries to  an  Alaskan  is  quite  as  large,  as  a 
schooner  load  of  wheat  would  be  to  old  Hutch, 
or  a  dozen  car  load  of  pigs  would  be  to  P.  D.  A. 

THE   DELICACIES   OF   THE  TABLE. 

I  went  into  a  house  at  Juneau  ;  a  woman  and 
several  children  with  one  man  were  squatted 
around  the  fire  taking  their  dinners.  This  con- 
sisted of  a  large  dried  salmon.  A  woman  held 


126  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

it  in  her  hand  before  the  hot  fire,  screening  her 
hand  by  a  fold  of  the  fish.  When  it  was  cooked 
on  one  side  enough  to  burn  her  hand,  she  turned 
another  fold  and  when  satisfied  with  her  culi- 
nary art,  tore  it  apart  in  a  large  wooden  bowl. 
The  fish  was  in  fact  scarcely  at  all  cooked,  but 
was  simply  made  very  hot.  This,  however, 
seemed  satisfactory  to  the  feasters.  Each  mem- 
ber of  the  family  tore  a  piece  off  with  fingers  or 
teeth.  The  hands  of  the  young  girls  were  soaked 
with  the  oil  exuding  from  the  hot  and  fat  sal- 
nion.  They  wiped  them  clean  several  times 
during  the  meal  upon  their  luxuriant  tresses, 
which  hung  down  their  backs  in  massive  braids. 
I  think  I  must  have  a  good-natured  face,  for  I 
have  never  in  any  land  offended  when  making 
such  domiciliary  visits.  In  this  instance  the 
woman  wished  me  to  join  them  in  their  feast,  as- 
suring me  it  was  good.  At  least  I  so  took  the 
words  with  the  expressions  of  face  used.  They 
had  no  bread  of  any  sort.  After  they  had  suffic- 
iently filled  themselves,  each  took  a  long  draught 
of  water,  from  a  native  wooden  pail. 

Salmon  is  the  staple  article  of  food,  and  hangs 
drying  by  the  scores  and  hundreds  on  racks  in 
front  of  each  shack  or  house  and  upon  the  walls 
within.  The  fish  on  the  racks  seemed  small, 
possibly  such  are  reserved  for  home  consump- 
tion, while  the  larger  ones  had  been  sold  to  the 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  127 

canneries.  The  Alaskan  salmon,  however,  is 
not  a  large  one.  It  must  be  fattening  food,  for 
men  and  women  are  generally  plnrnp  and  the 
children  as  rounded  as  well-fed  pigs.  The  little 
ones  are  as  frisky  and  happy  as  in  Japan,  which 
I  thought  the  paradise  of  babies.  I  was  struck 
by  the  full  rounded  paunches  of  the  little  ones. 
This,  too,  is  remarkable  among  their  little 
cousins  in  the  land  of  the  rising  sun  ;  possibly 
a  result  of  fish  diet.  During  the  summer  season 
the  Indians  consume  large  quantities  of  berries 
—blue  or  huckleberries  and  salmon  berries. 
The  English  call  the  latter,  cloud  berry  in  Nor- 
way. I  saw  a  basket  full  of  a  white  clustered 
root  in  front  of  a  shack ;  a  sort  of  bunch  of 
small  seed  like  bulbs  compacted  into  a  single 
bulb,  very  white,  not  unlike  a  mass  of  snow- 
drops glued  together  into  a  ball  walnut-sized. 
I  asked  a  woman  who  was  washing  them  if  they 
were  good.  She  grinned  and  put  a  handful  into 
her  mouth  as  answer,  at  the  same  time  handing 
me  some.  They  tasted  like  a  starchy  paste 
made  from  impalpable  flour.  I  asked  the  name. 
She  replied  "  Chinook  (Indian)  lice."  They 
cannot  pronounce  the  "  r,"  but  Chinese-like 
substitute  "  1  "-for  it. 

Another  delicacy  is  a  kind  of  very  small  fish 
egg,  deposited  by  a  sort  of  herring  on  fine  twigs 
of  hemlock  placed  by  the  natives  in  certain 


128  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

places  in  the  sea  for  the  purpose.  The  eggs  are 
clustered  on  the  twigs  until  they  are  as  big  as 
one's  thumb,  thousands  upon  thousands,  upon  a 
small  branched  limb.  The  branches  are  hung 
up  to  dry.  When  used  they  are  soaked  in  fresh 
water  and  the  eggs  stripped  off  by  the  hand. 
The  eggs  when  soaked  swell  till  they  seem  per- 
fectly fresh.  I  asked  the  woman  I  saw  soaking 
them  if  they  were  good.  A  smile  from  ear  to 
ear  illumined  her  face  ;  she  offered  me  some  and 
then  opened  her  capacious  mouth  into  which  she 
threw  a  handful  which  she  crushed  with  evident 
delight.  Though  of  an  enquiring  mind,  I  ab- 
stained heroically  from  accepting  the  proffered 
hospitality.  Had  the  eggs  been  fried  I  doubt 
not  they  would  have  made  a  good  dish.  The 
dry  ones  were  shriveled  and  as  dead  looking  as 
the  roe  in  a  smoked  herring,  yet  when  soaked 
they  seemed  as  plump  and  fresh  as  if  just  taken 
from  the  mother  fish. 

GUM-CHEWING   AMONG   THE   NATIVES. 

When  selling  berries  to  the  ship  passengers 
the  women  are  either  all  the  while  eating  of 
their  goods  or  are  chewing  some  kind  of  gum, 
generally  the  latter.  Why  should  not  Alaska's 
400  chew  gum  as  well  as  our  own.  One  of  their 
fashions  is  very  grotesque.  We  saw  several 
women  with  their  faces,  necks,  arms  and  hands 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC   OCEAN.  129 

stained  almost  black.  Whether  this  was  done 
for  ornamentation,  or  as  a  sort  of  mourning 
badge,  I  could  not  definitely  learn.  Both  solu- 
tions were  given  us  by  people  residing  among 
them.  If  the  latter,  it  furnished  another  evi- 
dence of  Japanese  origin.  A  Japanese  married 
woman  blackens  her  teeth,  and  plucks  her  eye 
brows  and  lashes  to  make  herself  unattractive, 
as  a  proof  of  her  love  for  her  lord.  These 
women  carry  out  the  same  idea  when  in  sorrow. 
Their  grief  is  certainly  much  more  economical 
than  in  politer  lands  where,  robes  de  deul  are 
both  nobby  and  costly. 

At  each  town  visited  by  us  lines  of  women 
with  some  men  were  crouched  down  on  their 
haunches,  with  their  wares  for  sale ;  dressed 
skins,  carved  wood,  spoons,  totems,  and  uncouth 
images  of  animals  ;  baskets  beautifully  woven  of 
a  kind  of  grass,  very  close,  very  strong,  and 
decorated  in  bold,  natural  colors.  They  have 
what  so  many  untutored  but  somewhat  self- 
cultured  half  savage  people  have,  a  thorough 
conception  of  harmony  of  color.  At  first, 
to  our  cultivated  estheticism,  the  coloring 
used  by  them  is  too  glaring,  but  when  toned 
down  by  time,  or  when  seen  at  a  little  distance, 
110  civilized  people  can  surpass  them. 

The  baskets  made  by  the  people  of  a  sort  of 
strong  grass  probably  mixed  with  some  kind  of 


130  A   SUMMER'S   OUTING. 

bark,  are  very  strong  and  so  closely  woven,  that 
they  will  hold  water.  They  can  be  folded 
tightly  without  breaking  the  fiber.  I  had  consid- 
erable difficulty  in  getting  a  native  to  part  with  an 
old  one.  It  would  seem  they  recognize  the  soft- 
ness lent  by  age.  I  offered  several  women  two 
or  three  times  as  much  for  old  ones,  which  they 
had  in  use,  as  they  asked  for  new  ones.  The 
one  I  succeeded  in  getting  was  from  a  woman  who 
had  no  new  ones  for  sale.  It  probably  had  held 
rather  unsavory  messes,  but  its  coloring  is  ex- 
quisitely soft  and  mellow.  A  passenger  asked 
what  I  wanted  with  the  dirty  thing.  Its  soft 
tone  being  pointed  out,  she  spent  over  an  hour 
going  from  shack  to  shack  fruitlessly  endeavor- 
ing to  obtain  one. 

The  same  difference  is  observable  between  old 
and  new  Turkish  rugs.  Their  beauty  is  not  in 
the  texture  or  weight  but  in  the  harmony  of 
color,  which  no  European  has  yet  been  able  to 
surpass,  if  equal.  The  high  art  of  France  has 
not  yet  learned  to  create  in  large  ungraceful 
figures  the  result  found  in  rugs  laboriously 
made  by  the  half  civilized  people  of  Eastern 
Turkey  and  of  the  Caucasus.  The  French  attain 
it  only  by  grouping  small  figures  of  graceful  de- 
sign. The  Thlinkets  are  the  most  numerous  of 
the  native  tribes,  and  are  the  ones  which  so  re- 
semble the  Japanese.  A  Thlinket  when  playing 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC    OCEAN.  131 

merchant  to  the  tourist  visitors  offers  his  wares 
with  an  utter  indifference  and  apparently  never 
drops  a  tittle  from  his  first  price.  If  you  pur- 
chase he  or  she  seems  pleased  ;  if  you  decline  his 
air  is  of  one  utterly  indifferent.  We  saw  a  large 
number  at  work  about  the  Treadwell  mines  in 
different  capacities,  and  in  drilling  and  quarry- 
ing the  quartz.  They  seem  to  work  as  well  as 
the  average  white  man. 

By  the  way,  the  Treadwell  mine  is  an  extraor- 
dinary thing.  Gold-bearing  quartz  is  quarried  like 
common  stone.  The  vein,  if  it  can  be  so  termed, 
is  500  feet  wide,  open  upon  the  surface  and  extend- 
ing to  an  unknown  depth.  It  is  of  low  grade  ore, 
yielding  only  from  four  to  eight  dollars  per  ton,  but 
is  soeasily  reached  and  worked  with  such  cheapness 
that  many  think  it  the  most  valuable  mine  in  the 
world.  The  mine  runs  240  stamps,  being  the 
largest  number  in  existence  under  one  roof.  It 
is  controlled  by  so  close  a  corporation  that  the 
yield  is  never  divulged  and  its  value  is  a  secret. 
It  is  said,  however,  that  an  offer  of  $15,000,000 
to  $20,000,000  has  been  refused.  Its  machinery 
is  almost  if  not  entirely  run  by  water  power  fur- 
nished by  a  mountain  stream  tumbling  from  a 
lofty  height  immediately  behind  and  over  the 
mine.  It  is  on  Douglas  Island,  which  is  separ- 
ated from  the  main  land  at  Juneau  by  a  channel 
about  a  mile  in  width. 


132  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Other  paying  mines  are  being  worked  about 
Juneau,  and  promising  claims  have  been  located 
in  many  parts  of  the  Territory.  The  seal  produce 
of  the  land  is  too  well  known  to  need  any  com- 
ment, but  it  will  probably  surprise  the  majority 
of  our  people  when  they  learn  that  the  salmon 
crop  of  last  year  was  of  about  750,000  cases. 
Each  case  I  believe,  holds  two  dozen  cans.  When 
one  considers  the  fact  that  the  waste  of  fish  at 
the  great  packing  canneries  is  enormous,  not 
more  than  half  of  an  eight  pound  sock-eye  sal- 
mon— the  best  of  all — being  used,  and  then  con- 
siders the  number  caught  by  the  natives  for 
themselves  and  for  their  dogs,  we  can  easily 
marvel  at  the  vast  schools  which  frequent  these 
Northern  waters.  The  waste  spoken  of  is  not 
because  more  cannot  be  saved,  but  because  the 
middle  part  of  the  fish  cans  best  and  is  saved 
with  a  minimum  of  labor.  The  back  with  its 
fin  is  removed  by  one  stroke  of  the  knife,  then 
the  same  is  done  with  the  belly.  The  head  and 
tail  is  then  cut  so  deep  into  the  body  that  only 
four  pounds  of  an  eight-pounder  is  left.  This 
is  divided  into  four  equal  parts.  One  part  is 
then  rolled  and  pressed  by  the  hand  into  a  can. 
The  cans  are  closed  and  placed  in  great  vats, 
where  they  are  boiled.  When  about  done  they 
are  taken  out  and  pricked  to  let  the  air  out,  and 
again  soldered.  They  go  again  into  vats  to  be 


NORTHERN   PACIFIC    OCEAN.  133 

boiled  an  hour  and  a  half.  This  long  cooking  in 
air-tight  cans  causes  the  bones  to  be  absorbed 
without  wasting  the  juices  and  flavor  of  the  fish. 
When  this  is  done,  each  can  is  again  examined 
and  any  one  at  all  puffed  up  is  again  pricked  to 
let  all  air  escape  and  is  again  boiled.  They  are 
then  cooled  for  boxing.  Some  canneries  on  the 
Pacific  pack  from  forty  all  the  way  up  to  a  hun- 
dred thousand  fish  a  day. 

I  spoke  of  dogs.  There  are  a  great  many  in 
the  Indian  villages.  They  are  all  more  or  less 
mixed  of  Esquimaux  breed.  They  exceed  the 
number  of  children,  are  all  wolf-like,  and  are  on 
the  best  of  terms  with  the  people.  It  is  amusing 
to  set  one  of  them  to  barking,  especially  if  the 
bark  be  of  the  howl  kind,  for  immediately  it  is 
caught  up  by  his  nearest  neighbor  and  carried 
on  until  every  dog  in  the  camp  is  squatting  on 
his  haunches  and  lifting  his  voice  to  its  highest 
pitch.  The  medley  of  sounds,  from  the  pup's 
quaver  through  the  whole  gamut  of  different 
ages  to  the  sober  howls  of  the  grandfather,  is 
very  droll,  especially  when  the  hearer  sees  the 
performers  in  their  dead  earnestness.  They  lift 
their  heads  and  look  so  solemn,  and  howl  in  so 
lugubrious  a  key,  that  one  feels  that  in  this 
dogish  art  at  least  they  are  unequaled  by  the 
canines  of  any  other  part  of  the  world. 


LETTER  VIL 

STEAMING  UP  THE  ICE-PACKED  FIORDS  AND 
CHANNELS  OF  THE  ARCTIC  COUNTRY  OWNED 
BY  UNCLE  SAM.  SALMON  CANNERIES.  CANOE 
BUILDING  BY  NATIVES.  ASCENT  OF  THE 
"  MUIR"  GLACIER,  3  CO  FEET  ABOVE  WATER. 

FANTASTIC  ICE  FORMATIONS  AT  TAKOU. 
SUMMER  AND  WINTER  CLIMATES.  IMPUDENT 
CROWS  AND  ORATORICAL  RAVENS. 

STEAMER  QUEEN, 
GULF  OF  GEORGIA,  Aug.  10. 
The  salmon  canneries  of  Alaska  are  not  all  in 
the  neighborhood  of  the  towns  at  which  the  ex- 
cursion steamer  calls,  but  are  at  or  near  every 
considerable  stream  which  flows  into  the  straits, 
channels  and  inlets.  The  instinct  of  the  fish 
send  them  at  regular  seasons  into  fresh  water, 
where  and  near  which,  they  are  caught  in  vast 
numbers.  Other  steamers,  some  of  them  carrying 
passengers  and  requiring  a  week  longer  to  make 
the  trip,  call  at  stated  times  at  several  places,  to 
which  the  Queen  does  not  go,  to  take  on  and 
unload  freight.  The  natives  are  the  principal  fish- 
ermen using,  both  nets  and  hooks  from  their  trim 
canoes.  These 'are  dug  out  from  a  single  log, 
some  barely  holding  a  man,  others  carrying  with 
safety  fifty  or  more.  A  log  of  two  feet  diameter 
will  make  a  canoe  nearly  twice  as  large  at  its 

134 


ALASKAN   CANOES.  135 

waist.  When  dug  out  to  a  thin  shell  almost  as 
light  as  birch  bark,  the  frame  is  filled  with  water, 
into  which  hot  stones  are  thrown  until  the 
wooden  walls  are  thoroughly  steamed,  hot  and 
pliable.  Sticks  of  different  lengths,  the  longest 
at  the  canoe  waist,  are  then  set  into  the  frame, 
which  is  spread  out  into  a  fine,  cutter-shaped 
keel.  A  high  prow  and  somewhat  raised  stern 
are  cut  out  of  the  log  or  set  into  it.  Some  of 
the  crafts  present  finely  modeled  keels.  The 
shell  of  a  canoe  holding  over  sixty  people,  is 
often  less  than  a  half  inch  thick,  and  so  light 
that  two  people  can  easily  pull  it  high  on  dry 
land.  The  native  squats  in  the  bottom  of  his 
canoe  and  paddles  it  with  great  speed. 

We  saw  a  boat  not  twenty  feet  long,  the  whole 
filled  to  the  top  with  light  firewood.  On  this  were 
perched  two  men,  three  women,  a  dog,  a  small 
tent,  and  the  cooking  utensils  of  the  family. 
They  were  sailing  from  Jurieau  to  another  vil- 
lage several  miles  away.  A  native  gets  into  his 
canoe  as  lightly  and  carefully  as  if  he  were 
treading  on  eggs.  In  this  instance,  the  boat 
sank  until  its  upper  line  was  not  four  inches  out 
of  water.  We  expected  to  see  it  swamped,  for 
there  was  a  light  wind  and  a  few  white  caps. 
We  watched  it  with  our  glasses  until  safely 
landed  at  a  village  several  miles  away.  The 
natives,  of  villages  quite  distant  from  the  towns 


136  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

at  which,  the  steamers  call,  bring  their  wives, 
dogs,  and  household  utensils,  together  with  what 
they  may  have  to  sell  in  the  curio  line  to  these 
places  on  the  day  the  steamers  are  due.  They 
pitch  their  tents  on  the  shore  not  far  from  the 
steamboat  pier,  draw  their  canoes  upon  the 
strand  above  high  water  mark,  and  seem  as 
much  at  home  as  if  regularly  domiciled.  They 
remain  as  long  as  they  see  a  chance  for  trade 
and  then  fold  their  tents  and  silently  seal 
away.  They  require  only  a  few  minutes  to  get 
themselves  and  their  worldly  possessions  aboard 
their  little  dugouts.  At  Juneau  there  were  sev- 
eral of  these  temporary  inhabitants.  They  all 
embarked  after  sundown,  and  with  the  long  twi- 
light were  able  to  reach  their  permanent  abodes 
before  well-set  dark. 

The  people  catch  fish  at  or  near  their  respec- 
tive villages.  The  canneries  each  have  a  small 
steambarge,  which  is  sent  to  several  villages 
daily  to  pick  up  the  catch.  In  this  way  the  sal- 
mon are  landed  at  the  packing-places  when  per- 
fectly fresh.  The  Alaskan  salmon  is  as  a  rule 
small,  averaging  only  about  six  pounds,  while 
a  sock  eye  "  of  the  Frazer  River  run  evenly  at 
eight  pounds,  and  the  Columbia  River  furnishes 
an  average  of  nearly  twenty  pounds.  Large 
fish,  however,  were  brought  to  our  steward,  also 
magnificent  halibut,  which  the  passengers 


A   THRIFTY   WOMAN.  137 

enj  oyed  greatly.  One  soon  becomes  satiated  with 
salmon  on  the  Pacific  Coast.  It  is  as  thoroughly 
an  every  day  food,  as  is  the  hog  and  hominy  on 
a  southern  plantation.  Except  to  the  Indian,  it 
does  not  seem  to  be  as  good  for  a  steady  diet  as 
the  southerner's  homely  fare.  Several  other 
varieties  of  salt  water  fish  furnish  a  less  surfeit- 
ing every  day  food  than  this  famous  beauty. 
We  hailed  with  pleasure,  the  change  to  halibut 
given  us  by  our  steward  when  we  reached 
Alaska.  No  where  is  this  solid  denizen  of  the 
sea,  found  in  better  kelter  than  up  here. 

A   PICTURE   OF   SITKA. 

Our  ship  on  the  excursion  stops  at  Seattle  and 
Port-Townsend,  in  Washington ;  Victoria  and 
Nanaimo,  on  Vancouver's  Island  ;  and  at  Fort 
Wrangle,  Juneau,  and  Sitka,  in  Alaska  ;  at  each 
long  enough  to  afford  passengers  full  time  to 
satisfy  themselves.  Juneau  is  the  largest  place 
owing  to  the  rich  mines  in  the  vicinity.  All 
have  large  canneries  near  by,  which  employ 
natives,  many  of  whom  have  acquired  considera- 
ble property.  A  native  woman,  widow  to  a  white 
trader,  and  her  daughter  were  passengers  from 
Juneau  to  Chilkat.  She  is  a  sort  of  Merchant, 
continuing  the  business  of  her  defunct  husband. 
She  bore  herself  most  decorously  in  her  half 
mourning,  and  seemed  quite  able  to  steer  her 


138  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

own  bark  through  the  remaining  voyage  of  life. 
She  is  reputed  to  be  worth  several  thousand  dol- 
lars, and  manages  her  affairs  shrewdly.  Her 
eligibility  was  suggested  to  the  late  friend  of 
Persia's  shah.  His  eyes  rested  more  fondly 
upon  her  plump  daughter,  who  displayed  much 
agility  and  a  trim  ankle  when  she  descended  the 
gangway  in  a  high  sea  out  side  of  Chilkat. 

Sitka  has  one  of  the  prettiest  sites  and  harbors 
in  the  world,  and  its  climate  just  now  is  simply 
delicious.  It  is  built  on  slightly  rising  ground 
on  a  bay  running  some  miles  from  the  sea,  with 
beautiful  little  islands,  clustered  in  large  num- 
ber in  front  of  the  town.  These  lift  with  rounded 
rocky  foundations  naked  and  water-washed  at 
low  tide,  but  are  clothed  in  rich  green  shrubbery 
above  high  water  mark.  They  would  make  an 
exquisite  water  park  for  a  large  city.  Over  one 
edge  of  this  park  lifts  a  few  miles  away,  Mount 
Edgecumbe,  a  perfect  volcanic  cone  about  3,000 
feet  high.  Its  lower  two  thirds  are  clothed  in 
green.  Its  upper  third,  beneath  its  broad  ex- 
tinct crater,  is  of  rich  red  rock.  Long  points  of 
the  red  run  down  into  the  green,  while  points  of 
the  green  run  up  into  the  red.  It  reminds  one 
much  of  famous  Fuji-yama  in  Japan.  The  god- 
mountain  of  Japan  is  over  four  times  as  high, 
but  Edgecumbe  is  seen  so  close  that  the  contrast 
does  not  entirely  belittle  it. 


FINE  SCENERY.  1.39 

Around  and  behind  Sitka  are  lofty  foot 
bills  clothed  in  forests,  making  a  perfect  amphi- 
theater, while  behind  them  rear  pointed,  rocky 
mountains  more  or  less  snow  flecked.  The 
town  is  on  the  great  island  of  Baranoff,  which 
is  a  mass  of  pinnacled  mountains,  the  northern 
slopes  of  which  are  always  white  with  sheets 
of  snow.  When  we  sailed,  a  few  days  before, 
northward  through  Prince  Frederick  Sound, 
these  mountains  formed  a  wonderfully  beau- 
tiful background.  Prince  Frederick  Sound  is 
about  twenty  by  thirty  odd  miles.  All  around 
it  lie  grand  mountains  of  exceeding  ruggedness 
on  their  highest  peaks,  but  green  below,  with 
stripes,  bands  and  patches  of  white.  Through  a 
break  to  the  south  the  sound  stretches  some 
miles  further,  backed  by  the  Baranoff  range, 
rising  in  innumerable  sharply  pointed  pinnacles, 
and  about  their  shoulders  as  purely  white  as 
loftiest  Alpine  heights.  All  the  mountains  are 
comparatively  uncovered  when  seen  on  their 
southern,  western,  and  eastern  exposures,  while 
those  seen  from  the  north  although  not  more 
lofty,  are  clothed  in  blankets  of  white,  as  if  to 
protect  them  from  the  northern  blasts. 

The  entire  Alaskan  trip  presents  a  constant 
succession  of  gorgeous  scenery,  and  if  the 
weather  be  fine,  it  is  worth  the  time  taken  and  the 
cost  in  money  to  one  who  loves  the  picturesque 


140  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  enjoys  the  rugged  grandeur  of  nature, 
even  if  they  were  no  grand  glaciers.  The  time  is 
not  far  distant,  when  commodious  hotels  will  be 
maintained  in  these  northern  possessions  as 
summer  resorts.  Many  people  will  then'  spend 
weeks  in  them,  and  with  the  aid  of  small  excur- 
sion barges  will  find  health  and  delights. 

An  intelligent  man  who  has  resided  for  several 
years  in  Sitka,  assured  me  he  much  preferred 
its  winter  climate  to  that  of  southern  Ohio, 
where  he  had  grown  up  to  mature  manhood. 
The  average  winter  climate  is  rather  milder  than 
that  of  Washington,  but  with  no  extreme  of 
cold.  The  frequent  rainy  days  during  the  sum- 
mer are  a  great  draw  back  to  the  pleasure  of  ex- 
cursion tourists.  The  chances  are  decidedly 
that  he  will  find  everything  wet  when  he  ar- 
rives. Our  party  was  one  of  the  lucky  ones. 
The  air  was  clear  and  balmy.  The  sun  made  a 
parasol  agreeable  to  the  ladies.  I  lolled  for  an 
hour  on  the  stoop  of  a  deserted  house,  with  my 
head  in  shade,  but  my  body  and  lower  limbs 
warmed  by  a  delicious  sun  bath,  while  my  eyes 
feasted  upon  the  glorious  picture  spread  before 
me  of  mountain  peak  and  green  slopes,  and 
gently  rippling  water  as  the  tide  slowly  crept 
up  the  soft  beach  of  the  little  bay  behind  the  town. 

Except  when  sailing  across  four  entrances  or 
broad  straits  running  out  to  the  open  sea,  the 


MIRROR-LIKE   SKA.  141 

entire  voyage  to  and  from  Alaska,  usually  is  and 
always  may  be  through  straits,  canals,  and  fiords 
so  thoroughly  protected  from  the  ocean's  angry 
waters  that  the  smallest  steamer  can  hardly  feel 
a  toss.  On  this  excursion  of  ours,  the  briny 
depths  below  us  were  often  as  smooth  as  glass, 
reflecting  the  mountains,  as  from  a  mirror.  As 
the  swell  from  our  steamer  would  roll  off  in 
smooth,  rounded  and  diverging  lines,  they  would 
weave  fantastic  forms,  upon  their  mirror  like 
surface,  of  green  forest,  rugged  rocks,  or  snow 
caps.  Towards  the  land  beyond  the  effect  of  the 
swell,  the  mountains  would  often  be  so  perfectly 
delineated  upon  the  mirror,  that  a  photograph  of 
them  would  show  them  as  distinctly  below  as 
above.  The  picture  could  be  turned  upside 
down  with  but  little  detriment  to  the  view.  Near 
the  steamer  the  rounded  crest  of  the  swell  would 
reflect  long  weird  lines  of  forest,  which  would 
spread  out  behind  us  as  the  swell  sank  to  a  lower 
level. 

At  night  millions  of  small  fish,  probably 
herrings,  would  be  disturbed  in  their  schools, 
and  fluttering  and  hurrying  from  the  ship's 
prow  would  make  the  water  blaze  in  brilliant 
phosphorescence.  Now  and  then  a  large  fish 
would  dart  through  these  schools,  leaving  behind 
him  a  bright  wake  of  flame.  As  he  dashed 
through  them,  the  herrings  would  scatter  their 


142  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

flame  work  into  myriads  of  sparkling  diamonds. 
When  onr  ship  would  push  into  the  school,  the 
alarm  seemed  to  be  given  to  quite  a  distance 
in  the  mass.  The  dense  pack  of  little  fellows 
forward  the  ship's  bow,  would  break  the  sea  into 
chaotic  burning  mass,  as  they  sped  in  haste  be- 
fore the  great  monster  chasing  them.  The  line 
to  the  right  and  left  then  bent  aft,  weaving 
the  sea  into  a  waving  network  of  fire.  Farther 
off  the  brightness  was  toned  down  to  a  glis- 
tening shimmer,  and  then  was  lost  in  the 
distance.  The  schools  we  saw  were  moving  in 
great  lines  in  the  direction  we  were  sailing. 
They  were  composed  of  millions  of  little  finny 
flutterers. 

PANORAMA    ON    LAND    AND    WATER. 

Frequently  as  we  sailed  over  the  placid  sea, 
little  diving  ducks  would  flap  the  waters  in  a 
race  from  the  ship's  hull,  and  when  a  hundred 
feet  off  would  dive  for  a  score  or  more  feet,  per- 
fectly satisfied  that  by  their  dive  they  had  hidden 
their  tracks  from  the  mighty  monster.  Droves 
of  porpoise  rolled  about  us,  and  now  and 
then  one  would  race  with  us  for  a  mile  or  so  and 
seem  really  to  understand  and  enjoy  the  contest. 
Asiatic  crows  cawed  around  us  when  we  were 
ashore  most  familiarly,  and  with  the  cute  impu- 
dence, so  characteristic  of  his  brethern  in  Eastern 


CROWS    AND    RAVENS.  143 

Asia.  When  we  landed  at  Muir  Glacier,  a 
young  school  marm  and  I  wandered  along  the 
shore  then  bare  from  the  receding  tide,  up  to  the 
icy  precipice.  A  couple  of  crows  espied  us  and 
flew  about  us  cawing,  and  finally  perched  on  a 
rock  close  by.  I  told  the  fair  one  that  these 
birds  instinctively  saw  that  we  were  to  be  caught 
by  the  incoming  tide  or  under  an  ice  fall,  and 
were  awaiting  a  feast.  Their  cawing  was  so  con- 
stant, that  she  become  superstitious,  and  de- 
clared she  could  not  stand  it.  I  had  to  shy  a 
pebble  at  them  to  allay  her  timidity.  The  crow 
is  a  familiar  bird  up  here,  but  the  raven  is  an 
Alaskan  institution.  If  I  be  not  mistaken  he  is 
held  by  the  natives  in  a  sort  of  veneration.  He 
is  twice  or  more  as  large  as  our  crow  ;  has  a 
huge  roman  nosed  -beak,  which  occasionally 
snaps  with  a  report  nearly  as  loud  as  the  snaps 
of  a  pelican's  bill.  His  coat  is  of  shiny, 
burnished  bottle  green  black,  and  his  eye  has 
an  expression  queerly  mixed  of  vacuous  imbecil- 
ity, and  cunning  impudent  rascality.  He  is  a 
genuine  stump  speaker,  and  as  fond  of  his  own 
orations  as  a  famous  eastern  after  dinner  talker 
is  of  his  pretty  speeches. 

When  we  strolled  in  the  deep  shade  of  the 
dense  forest  behind  Sitka,  some  of  these  impu- 
dent fellows  settled  in  adjoining  trees  and  held 
dialogues  and  debates,  possibly  upon  our  human 


144  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

characteristics.  They  would  harange  and  then 
seem  to  crack  coarse  jokes,  when  one  of  them 
would  almost  laugh  in  low  gutturals,  not  unlike 
the  gurgling  of  water  running  from  a  two  gal- 
lon jug.  A  wag  among  us  declared  they  were 
making  ward  stump-speeches,  and  was  willing  to 
wager  that  if  ravens  language  could  be  under- 
stood, we  should  find  that  some  of  the  jokes 
were  utterly  unfit  for  polite  ears.  Those  we  saw 
were  rather  jolly  good  fellows,  and  were  not  of 
the  family  of  which  one  appeared  to  Edgar  Poe 
in  his  hashish  dreams. 

I  said  that  the  simple,  beautiful  scenery  pre- 
sented by  the  Alaskan  excursion,  well  repays 
the  loss  of  time  and  money  expended  upon  it. 
Many  of  the  mountain-flanked  channels  are 
wonderfully  beautiful.  The  Linn  or  Chilkat 
Canal  is  surpassed  by  nothing  of  the  sort  we 
have  ever  seen.  It  is  about  four  miles  wide  and 
probably  30  long.  On  either  side  tower  moun- 
tains, say  3,000  feet  high,  rising  from  the  water 
like  great  receding  buttresses,  clothed  thickly 
in  forest  below,  with  scattered  copses  toward  the 
upper  slopes,  and  flecked  with  openings  of  low 
shrubbery  in  pale  green,  artistically  contrasting 
with  the  dark  tone  of  firs  and  spruce.  All  are 
topped  by  rocks,  those  near  us  gray,  and  the 
most  distant  ones  of  an  undertone  of  purple, 
while  in  the  far  distance,  the  mountains  on 


TAKOU   GLACIERS.  145 

either  shore  become  first  blue-gray,  and  then 
blend  off  into  sweet  opalescent  tints.  Over  and 
above  all,  towered  at  no  great  distance  mighty 
snow  fields  and  glaciered  heights.  Crillon,  Fair- 
weather,  and  La  Peronse  to  the  west  cut  the 
clear  blue  sky  with  their  points  15,000  and 
nearly  16,000  feet  above  us;  mantels  of  clouds 
here  and  there  fell  about  their  titantic  shoulders, 
and  light  veils  of  mist  wound  and  unwound 
about  them  just  under  their  snowy  pinnacles. 
Into  this  glorious  fiord  we  steamed  to  its  head  at 
Chilkat,  and  then  back  to  enter  Glacier  Bay,  the 
acme  of  Alaska's  wonderful  exhibitions. 

Fully  nine  Alaskan  tourists  out  of  ten  go 
for  its  glaciers,  which  are  seen  in  a  jnagnitude 
and  grandeur  inducing  one  to  pass  as  scarcely 
worthy  of  notice,  the  best  of  any  other  country 
which  is  possible  of  approach.  They  are  seen 
in  icy  hardness  on  distant  summits  shortly  after 
passing  the  boundary  of  British  Columbia. 
They  increase  in  frequency  as  one  goes  further 
north,  until  on  a  clear  and  cloudless  day  one  is 
scarcely  ever  out  of  sight.  The  first  visited  by  us 
was  that  at  the  head  of  Takou  inlet  south  of 
Juneau.  It  is  comparatively  small,  less  than  a 
mile  wide  at  its  foot,  but  running  back  several 
miles.  Its  foot  presents  a  perpendicular  wall  of 
ice  150  to  200  feet  high,  rising  out  of  water  sev- 
eral hundred  feet  deep.  Its  face  is  irregular; 


146  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

here  supported  by  icy  buttresses,  and  there  sink- 
ing back  into  icy  recesses  ;  now  with  irregular 
pilasters  and  projections  of  soft  snowy  appear- 
ance and  then  with  broken  columns,  recesses, 
and  caves  of  every  tint  of  blue  from  the  flitting 
opalescent  to  transparent  ultra-marine  and  deep 
indigo. 

FANTASTIC   GRANDEUR   OF   THE   GLACIERS. 

Now  is  seen  a  mass  of  closely  welded  crystals 
of  diamond  whiteness  glistening  under  the  kiss 
of  the  sun,  like  monster  piles  of  precious  gems  ; 
then  a  huge  broken  and  fissured  wall  compactly 
studded  with  turquoise  and  amethysts  and  gems 
so  green  as  to  be  almost  emeralds  forming  the  icy 
cliffs.  Loud  reports  as  of  rifle  guns  would  fill 
the  ear,  coming  from  the  cracking  behind  of  the 
solid  moving  mass  as  it  pushed  onward  in  its 
descent.  Hark  !  A  rattle  of  musketry  !  You 
look  and  see  a  mere  hat  full  of  snowy  ice  tumb- 
ling from  the  upper  edge.  As  it  falls  it  becomes 
a  cart  full,  a  house  full,  and  then  with  a  report 
as  loud  as  that  of  a  heavy  cannon,  a  section  of 
the  wall's  face  separates  from  the  mass  behind 
and  tumbles  into  the  deep  water  with  a  splash 
which  scatters  spray  one  or  two  hundred  feet 
around,  and  the  air  is  filled  as  with  the  bellow- 
ing of  thunder  echoed  from  projecting  ice  walls 
and  from  the  lofty  mountains  hemming  in  the 


DIVING   ICE.  147 

narrow  inlet.  The  fallen  mass  disappears  below 
the  surface.  But  look  !  See  that  monster  lifting 
from  the  water  a  half  hundred  feet  away  from 
where  the  tumbling  ice  fell !  It  is  a  dome-like 
pinnacle  of  ice.  Up  it  rises  slowly,  revealing 
the  most  exquisite  tints  as  its  shoulders  broaden  ; 
ten  feet,  twenty,  fifty,  aye,  nearly  a  hundred 
feet !  For  a  moment  it  poses  a  solidified  mass 
of  ultramarine.  Sparkling  waters  pour  in  cas- 
cades from  its  uplifted  dome.  But  see !  It  leans 
a  little  ;  it  leans  a  little  more  ;  and  tumbles  with 
a  mighty  noise  and  sends  geysers  up  to  the 
brink  of  the  icy  precipice  and  wide  around  for 
several  hundred  feet.  As  its  upper  member  or 
crest  topples  over,  a  huge  section  many  times 
more  bulky  than  the  part  we  had  seen  above 
water,  lifts,  and  then  lies  stretched  three  or 
more  hundred  feet,  and  exposed  .above  the  sur- 
face nearly  thirty  feet.  The  huge  mass  of  pos- 
sibly a  hundred  thousand  tons  weight  came  only 
to  a  small  extent  from  the  icy  wall  standing  be- 
fore and  above  us  ;  but  the  fissure  above  ex- 
tended— three  or  more  hundred  feet  down  into 
the  glacier  below  water,  and  rested  on  the 
ground.  For  one  end  was  covered  with  mud 
and  for  many  feet  was  deeply  stained. 

An  officer  of  the  ship  declared  this  was  the 
finest  exhibition  of  the  sort  he  had  ever  seen, 
and  that  the  iceberg  thus  made  and  now  slowly 


148  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

floated  out  by  the  receding  tide  weighed  far  more 
than  a  hundred  thousand  tons.  Our  ship  was 
lying  with  its  bow  toward  the  glacier  not  a 
thousand  feet  away.  The  vessel  rocked  and 
reeled  from  stem  to  stern  as  the  great  waves 
made  by  the  glacier  avalanche  rolled  under  her. 
We  lay  there  two  hours  listening  to  constant  re- 
ports and  seeing  a  succession  of  ice  slides. 
While  so  resting  for  the  enjoyment  of  passen- 
gers, the  captain  was  laying  in  ice  enough  for 
his  next  round  trip.  Icebergs  of  all  sizes,  from 
those  weighing  only  a  ton  up  to  others  half  as 
big  as  the  steamer,  were  floating  all  about  us. 
Some  of  crystal  whiteness  and  as  clear  as  the 
lens  of  a  telescope.  Others  were  of  every  tone  of 
blue,  deepening  sometimes  into  translucent 
olive.  The  most  of  the  bergs  were  of  delicious 
purity,  but  a  few  were  full  of  mud  brought  from 
the  bed  hundreds  of  feet  under  water.  In  some 
were  seen  good  sized  cobble  stones ;  in  one  a 
boulder  weighing  probably  a  quarter  of  a  ton. 
Sailors  in  a  boat  picked  from  these  masses 
chunks  of  perfect  clearness,  passed  grappling 
ropes  under  them,  and  then  hoisted  them  by  the 
steam  derrick  upon  the  main  deck.  Sometimes 
the  piece  seen  above  water  was  not  larger  than 
a  barrel,  but  when  lifted  into  full  view  it 
weighed  one,  two  or  more  tons.  For  every  foot 
of  ice  seen  in  an  iceberg  above  water  eight  lie 


OUR   ICE   SUPPLY.  149 

below.  Thus  when  a  berg  floated  close  to  us 
showing  thirty  feet  above  water,  it  had,  if  of 
even  form,  240  feet  below. 

CLIMBING   THE   FAMOUS   u  MUIR." 

Some  of  the  passengers  felt  uneasy,  fearing 
another  mighty  tumble  might  occur  immediately 
in  front  of  us,  and  that  the  mass  might  shoot 
outward  below  water,  and  might  come  up  be- 
neath, or  uncomfortably  close  to  us.  The  cap- 
tain, however,  stood  upon  the  bridge  ready  to 
send  his  ship  rapidly  backward  should  anything 
look  untoward.  The  engines  were  kept  in 
gentle  motion  holding  our  bow  steadily  toward 
the  glacier  precipice.  The  captain,  by  the  way, 
thinks  the  Takou  the  most  interesting  of  the  ap- 
proachable glaciers.  The  ice  gathered  was  of 
great  solidity.  It  did  not  break  under  an  ice  pick 
in  straight  cleavage,  but  irregularly,  showing  its 
peculiar  characteristic  of  being  formed,  not  from 
water  simply  freezing,  but  from  snow  compacted 
under  irresistible  pressure.  Two  chunks  of  per- 
haps each  two  tons  weight  lay  between  decks 
supplying  the  entire  ship's  wants  for  four  or  five 
days.  It  may  have  been  imagination,  but  I 
thought  this  ice  more  agreeable  for  eating  than 
that  made  by  ordinary  process.  It  was  more  fri- 
able and  broke  and  crumbled  in  the  mouth  in 
shorter  pieces  and  not  in  long  spiculae  as  ordi- 
nary ice  does. 


150  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

We  passed  on  our  run  close  to  several  other 
huge  glaciers,  some  of  them  running  quite  down 
to  the  water ;  among  them  the  "  Stephens " 
which  though  very  large,  reaches  the  sea  in  a 
slope  and  not  with  a  perpendicular  precipice. 
We,  however,  stopped  only  at  the  celebrated 
"  Muir."  We  lay  in  front  of  it  from  6  a.  m.  to 
2  p.  m. — a  half  hour  in  rather  dangerous  prox- 
imity, and  then  anchored  a  mile  off  for  pas- 
sengers to  land  and  climb  its  banks.  The  Muir 
presents  a  precipice  to  the  head  of  the  inlet 
nearly  300  feet  high  and  over  a  mile  long.  Two 
years  ago  it  bent  outward  with  a  very  decided 
convex  front ;  last  year  it  was  nearly  straight. 
Now  it  is  a  very  open  horseshoe.  We  took 
soundings  when  the  Queen  lay  a  thousand  feet 
from  the  front  and  found  under  us  720  feet.  It 
possibly  shallows  considerably  close  to  the  wall, 
say  to  400  feet.  The  glacier  is  certainly  over 
200  feet  high  ;  this  makes,  with  what  is  under 
water,  600  feet.  But  give  it  the  low  estimate  of 
an  average  across  the  inlet  of  400  feet.  It 
moves  steadily  downward  forty  feet  a  day,  and 
gradually  recedes.  Thus  it  will  be  found  that 
it  tumbles  into  the  sea  a  mass  of  ice,  40x5  2 Sox 
400  feet,  or  of  at  least  84,000,000  cubic  feet  a 
day. 

After  wandering  for  several  hours  over  the 
surface  of  the  glacier,  along  a  sort  of  granite 


CLIMBING   A   GLACIER.  151 

road  way  varying  in  depth  from  a  few  inches  up 
to  very  many  feet  thick  lying  upon  it ;  among 
blocks  of  granite  weighing  tons  brought  down 
upon  the  solid  frozen  river  j  across  narrow  cre- 
vices, into  whose  depths  we  could  look  a  hun- 
dred feet  down,  into  pure  ice  of  all  tints  of  blue 
from  the  pearl  blue  of  a  southern  sky  to  ultra- 
marine and  indigo — tints  so  beautiful  that  one 
involuntarily  groaned  in  pleased  admiration ; 
along  chasms  where  our  iron-pointed  alpenstocks 
were  necessary  to  prevent  a  slip,  which  would 
have  sent  us  down  into  glacial  gravesx;  looking 
over  pinnacles,  domes  and  valleys  of  ice  in  con- 
fused profusion;  over  grotesque  forms,  over  which 
no  one  person  could  safely  go,  but  a  dozen 
attached  to  each  other  by  ropes,  with  shoes  iron- 
nailed,  might  with  hazard  venture.  Then  up 
and  before  us  spread  the  mighty  glacier,  25 
miles  by  30,  fed  by  many  smaller  ones.  Morains 
of  rock  lifted  above  the  surface  in  long  even 
lines  running  back  for  miles,  showing  the  edge 
of  each  of  the  frozen  rivers,  which  have  united  to 
make  the  mighty  single  one. 

The  theory  explaining  the  medial  moraines  of 
glaciers,  is  that  two  or  more  glaciers  come  down 
the  gorges  and  upper  valleys  of  the  mountain. 
Each  of  these  gather  up  broken  rock  and  moun- 
tain debris  on  their  two  sides.  When  two  such 
glaciers  meet  and  run  into  and  form  one,  then 


152  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

the  inner  lateral  moraines  unite  and  are  borne 
along  by  the  enlarged  glacier.  As  it  flows  these 
two  morains,  now  become  u  medial,"  are  appar- 
ently pressed  upward  to  and  upon  the  surface. 
This,  however,  is  probably  only  apparent,  for  the 
ice  melting  under  the  summer  sun's  heat,  simply 
leaves  the  rock  debris  on  the  surface. 

The  Muir  is  the  result  of  several  upper  feed- 
ing glaciers.  Each  two  uniting  formed  from 
their  inner  lateral  moraines,  one  medial.  Sev- 
eral medial  ones  are  observable  on  the  surface 
of  the  great  glacier,  some  of  them  uniting  lower 
down,  when  the  bed  of  the  icy  stream  becomes 
contracted — where  the  valley  becomes  narrow. 
Several  medial  moraines  retain  their  individual 
line  until  the  great  precipice  is  reached.  The 
mass  of  the  debris  forming  a  moraine  is  of  com- 
paratively small  broken  granite  ;  not  broken  and 
rounded  by  glacial  action,  but  simply  irregular 
pieces  thrown  off  from  granite  precipices  high 
in  the  mountains  by  frost  forces.  Now  and  then 
a  few  rounded  pebbles,  and  small  boulders  are 
seen,  worn  on  the  under  surface  of  upper  glacier 
streams.  Quite  a  number  of  very  large  masses 
of  granite  are  being  borne  down  by  the  Muir 
moraines.  One  I  estimated  to  weigh  several 
tons.  Its  cleavage  sides  and  edges  were  fresh 
and  sharp  as  if  it  were  just  broken  from  its  par- 
ent rock. 


STRANDED   ICEBERGS.  153 

The  medial  morains  on  some  of  the  glaciers 
seen  at  a  distance,  have  a  singular  effect.  They 
can  be  seen  in  long  apparently  parallel  lines  and 
seemingly  close  enough  together,  to  be  the  walls 
of  a  long  smooth  road.  A  wag  declared  that  one 
of  them  was  the  road  from  an  Indian  village  to 
the  little  red  school  house  in  an  upper  valley. 

After  exploring  the  surface  of  the  glacier,  we 
found  that  the  tide  having  reached  its  ebb,  we 
could  approach  the  foot  of  the  ice-precipice. 
Three  of  us  had  approached  it  somewhat  nearly 
before  when  the  tide  was  but  half  out.  We 
walked  up  the  shingly  shore  through  stranded 
icebergs  of  all  sizes,  and  hundreds  in  number. 
Some  were  not  larger  than  a  barrel,  others 
larger  than  a  railroad  car,  and  of  all  intermediate 
sizes.  Now  we  threaded  our  way  through  a  cor- 
don of  huge  blocks  as  clear  as  crystal,  from 
which  we  chipped  with  the  spikes  of  our  alpen- 
stocks, chunks  delicious  to  eat.  Then  we  were 
among  others  of  various  tints,  colored  by  the 
earthy  matter  caught  by  them  when  flowing 
near  to  or  upon  the  valley  bed.  One  mass 
weighing  probably  a  thousand  tons  was  resting 
upon  a  point  so  small  as  to  be  a  mere  pivot.  I 
cut  from  it  a  smooth  rounded  cobble  stone  for  a 
paper  weigh t,  and  was  glad  when  my  task  was 
finished,  for  I  was  somewhat  uneasy  lest  the 
slight  hammering  might  topple  over  the  bulky 
mass. 


154  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

We  reached  the  foot  of  the  glacier.  Here  the 
picture  was  wonderfully  fine.  The  ice-precipice 
from  which  so  many  newly  broken  bergs  had 
tumbled,  was  far  more  beautiful  than  when  seen 
from  several  hundred  yards  away.  We  looked 
into  grottoes  many  yards  recessed  into  the  frozen 
cliff.  Here  in  one  was  every  shade  of  blue  ;  all 
tints  of  green  were  resplendent  in  another ;  and 
then  the  sun  would  discolor  these  shades,  and 
weave  them  into  the  sweet  tones  which  paint  an 
opal's  cheek.  Now  an  upper  member  of  a  newly 
broken  recess  under  the  sun  rays  sparkled  as 
with  million  diamonds,  and  then  another  looked 
like  a  mass  of  crystalized  olive  tints.  From  out 
of  a  deep  grotto  at  the  base  of  the  cliff  flowed  a 
strong  river,  which  had  been  pent  within  its  icy 
house,  and  now  reaching  the  free  air  bounded 
and  rushed  to  join  the  mighty  sea. 

Since  our  arrival  in  the  morning  the  tide  had 
fallen  fully  twenty  feet,  taking  away  considerable 
support  from  the  hanging  mass,  so  that  the  fall 
of  icebergs  was  almost  continuous.  The  thun- 
der while  so  close  to  a  tumbling  mass,  was  ter- 
rific and  sublime.  The  inlet  was  full  of  rjergs, 
so  that  the  ship  in  turning  out  had  to  pick  its 
way  carefully.  How  exquisitely  beautiful  they 
were  as  they  glistened  in  the  sun's  rays,  dis- 
playing their  iridescent  crystals!  As  we  steamed 
out  of  the  inlet  among  a  scattered  ice  floe  we 


MONSTER  ICEBERGS.  155 

thought  we  had  seen  all  that  a  grand  glacier 
could  present.  Imagine  our  surprise  when  we 
had  gone  about  ten  miles  to  find  ourselves  at  the 
entrance  to  another  inlet  which  was  packed  al- 
most solidly  with  icebergs.  With  our  glasses  we 
could  see  the  huge  "Pacific  glacier,"  about  thirty 
miles  away,  with  a  precipice  of  ice  600  to  800 
feet  high  and  five  miles  long.  Although  it  was 
quite  three  times  as  far  from  us  as  the  "Muir", 
yet  its  icy  front  showed  to  us  higher  out  of 
water.  The  inlet  running  up  to  it  was  literally 
packed  with  ice,  into  which  no  steamer,  unless 
armored  for  Arctic  seas,  would  dare  to  venture. 
A  passenger  lately  taken  on,  who  had  spent  a 
season  prospecting  in  this  immediate  neighbor- 
hood, assured  us  that  the  fall  of  ice  from  this 
glacier  was  absolutely  continuous,  and  that 
masses  would  tumble  a  half  mile  long.  He  had 
seen  one  floating  three  miles  long.  He  admitted 
he  had  no  means  of  measuring  it,  and  gave  us 
the  result  of  a  rather  hasty  guess.  He  said 
it  stranded  at  each  low  tide,  but  would  be  lifted 
at  each  flood  and  was  by  degrees  broken  up  suf- 
ficiently to  get  out  of  the  inlet.  "  Why,"  said 
this  passenger,  "  the  Muir  is  a  baby  by  the  side 
of  the  Pacific.  For  every  iceberg  coming 
from  the  one  five  hundred  come  from  the  other." 
The  statement  was  credible,  for  while  just  above 
this  inlet  the  strait  had  only  scattered  bergs, 


156  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

below  it  was  almost  a  pack  of  ice.  The  majority 
of  the  icebergs,  which  had  fallen  from  the  Muir, 
were  melted  away  before  reaching  the  mouth  of 
the  Pacific  inlet.  Looking  np  this,  the  icebergs 
seemed  almost  in  solid  mass;  of  all  sizes  from  a 
few  feet  broad,  to  others  covering  a  quarter  of 
an  acre  ;  and  from  a  few  feet  in  height  up  to 
twenty,  thirty  and  forty.  Out  side  of  the  inlet 
and  below  its  mouth,  monster  masses  were  all 
about  us,  some  of  them  hundreds  of  feet  across 
and  several  fully  fifty  feet  above  water. 

The  George  W.  Elder,  which  sailed  from  Ta- 
coma  the  night  we  did,  reached  the  Muir  while 
we  were  there  and  sailed  out  with  us.  We  thus 
had  a  genuine  Arctic  picture.  The  two  ships 
picked  their  way  slowly,  less  than  a  mile  apart. 
The  Elder  was  frequently  hidden  from  us  en- 
tirely by  mighty  icebergs.  For  miles  we  stole 
our  way  through  the  floe,  delighted  with  the 
novel  scene.  Two  fine  ships  in  this  icy  sea  gave 
us  a  realization  of  the  pictures  we  had  seen  of 
the  Thetis  and  her  comrade  in  the  frozen  pack 
beyond  the  Arctic  circle.  Mighty  Crillon,  Fair- 
weather,  and  La  Perouse  the  sources  of  the  great 
fields  of  frozen  snow  around  us  here  pour  their 
icy  floods  into  the  sea.  The  last  is  14,000  feet 
high  ;  the  other  respectively  15,900  and  15,500. 
They  present  the  same  amount  of  white  above 
the  snow  line  as  does  Mount  Everest.  That  is 


IMMENSE  GLACIERS.  157 

about  12,000  feet  on  its  southern  slope.  In 
Alaska  the  snow  line  toward  the  south  is 
reached  at  3,000  feet,  while  in  the  Himalayas  the 
tree  line  mounts  to  17,000  feet. 

When  I  looked  upon  these  great  icebergs 
which  had  tumbled  from  the  huge  ice-cliffs  we 
had  lately  seen,  and  then  recalled  the  fact  that 
they  were  but  snow  balls  when  compared  to 
some  which  have  been  sighted  in  far  northern 
and  in  southern  seas — some  which  were  from 
two  to  three  miles  square  and  seven  to  eight 
hundred  feet  high  above  water,  and  nearly  if  not 
quite  a  mile  deep  below  the  water  line — when  I 
recalled  these  facts  I  was  lost  in  trying  to  specu- 
late upon  the  vastness  of  the  glaciers  existing  in 
Greenland  and  in  Antarctic  continents.  Judg- 
ing from  what  we  know  of  those  about  us,  we 
have  to  suppose  there  are  glaciers  in  the  world 
two  or  three  aye  six  or  seven  miles  high  above 
water,  sinking  miles  below  the  surface,  and 
stretching  in  awful  grandeur  their  frozen  cliffs 
for  many  miles  along  the  sea. 

The  Pacific  glacier  is  from  six  to  eight  hun- 
dred feet  high  at  its  brink,  and  five  miles  long, 
yet  among  the  bergs  we  saw — and  the  captain 
said  he  had  never  seen  a  finer  display  in  the  lo- 
cality—  there  were  none  which  were  a  half  acre 
in  size  and  none  over  sixty  feet  high.  Icebergs 
are  said  to  have  been  seen  covering  an  area  of 


158  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

from  2,500  to  4,000  acres,  and  twelve  times  as 
high  as  the  highest  about  us.  The  glacier  from 
which  such  monsters  fell,  was  to  the  "  Muir  "  as 
Niagara  is  to  a  mill  dam.  Are  the  mighty  snow 
and  ice  mountains  of  the  far  south  growing,  or 
are  they  melting  and  breaking  away  from  their 
moorings?  If  growing,  when  will  they  tumble 
through  the  crust  of  the  earth,  and  send  a  raging 
sea  over  the  habitable  part  of  the  globe?  A  guar- 
anteed ticket  for  a  berth  in  the  coming  Noah's 
ark  may  be  a  handy  thing  to  have  about  the 
house.  With  one,  the  possessor  could  be  quite 
content  to  let  the  other  fellow  do  the  swimming. 

What  a  grand  mind  picture  is  presented  to  us, 
when  we  realize  that  glaciers  once  covered  the 
northern  half  of  this  continent — glaciers  whose 
sources  were  about  Baffins  Bay  and  within  the 
Arctic  circle,  and  whose  feet  stretched  from  the 
Alleghanies  to  the  Rocky  mountains — from 
Pennsylvania  to  Colorado  !  glaciers  so  vast  that 
they  built  up  moraines  over  a  thousand  feet  deep! 
It  is  these  thoughts  which  show  us  man's  little- 
ness and  his  vanity  in  boasting  himself  fashioned 
in  God's  image. 

A  good  clergyman  we  met  in  the  National 
Park,  in  all  seriousness  expressed  a  fear  that  the 
enormous  sky  scrapers  our  people  are  erecting 
in  Chicago  might  destroy  the  equilibrium  of  the 
earth,  and  cause  it  to  oscillate  eccentricaly  upon 


A   STIFF   PARTY.  159 

its  axis.  A  conscientious  Chicagoan  informed 
his  reverence,  that  we  were  building  our  city  of 
such  weight  that  it  would  counterbalance  the 
undue  growth  of  ice  mountains  about  the  south- 
ern pole. 

CLIMATE   OF  THE   FROZEN   REGION. 

We  have  a  pleasant  company  aboard — several 
being  from  Chicago.  There  is  less  of  stiffness 
than  is  generally  found  on  ocean  steamers. 
There  is  an  amusing  party  of  over  twenty  from 
the  city  of  brotherly  love.  They  are  all  nice — 
very  nice,  and  evidently  have  made  a  vow  to  hold 
themselves  aloof  from  all  others.  They  sit  on 
deck  in  rows  four  deep,  and  follow  the  lead  of 
one  lady  as  a  sort  of  bell-wether.  When  she 
smiles  all  laugh  ;  when  she  feels  a  cold  in  her 
head  all  sneeze. 

Perhaps  I  should  say  something  further  about 
the  climate  of  our  frozen  territory.  Few  things 
are  less  understood.  The  Sitka  winters  are  not 
unlike  those  of  Norfolk,  Va.,  rarely  getting 
much  below  freezing.  The  nights  there  are  very 
long,  as  the  days  are  in  summer.  The  suu  was 
hot  while  we  were  there,  but  the  shades  were  de- 
licious. Three  blankets  were  quite  comfortable 
at  night.  In  the  straits  and  inlets  the  weather 
is  not  quite  so  mild  as  on  the  open  seashore,  but 
nowhere  are  there  severe  winters  until  the  coast 


160  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

mountain  range  is  crossed.  There  the  sun  in  the 
summer  days  is  piercing  hot  and  mosquitoes  are 
so  thick  that  they  are  almost  unbearable.  There 
the  long  winters  lock  everything  up  in  thick 
ribbed  ice. 

We  know  that  nothing  can  be  more  delight- 
ful than  what  we  found  for  summer.  How- 
ever, we  have  been  fortunate.  The  rainfall 
is  great  and  rains  and  fogs  frequent.  We  have 
escaped  both.  Warm  clothing,  umbrellas,  water- 
proofs, and  water-tight  shoes  are  recommended 
by  those  who  advise  how  to  go  to  Alaska.  We 
have  needed  neither  except  the  shoes  when 
climbing  the  glacier.  We  have  worn  overcoats 
aboard  ship  when  the  wind  was  against  us,  for 
a  slight  breeze  and  the  wind  made  by  the  speed 
of  the  ship  causes  a  decided  chilliness  when  on 
deck.  When  the  ship  is  lying  still  we  have  re- 
quired no  extra  clothing. 

We  expect  to  reach  Nanaimo  early  to-morrow 
morning  where  the  ship  will  coal.  I  hope  we 
will  be  in  early  enough  for  myself  and  daughter 
to  catch  the  little  steamer  running  to  Vancouver. 

Before  closing,  however,  permit  me  to  give 
one  of  the  most  valuable  points  in  the  art  of 
traveling.  When  you  leave  home  drop  its  cares 
entirely  and  trustfully.  '  Let  your  friends  write 
nothing  about  your  business  unless  it  be  such  as 
they  know  should  hurry  you  back  and  for  that 


GOOD   ADVICE.  l6l 

intended.  Look  on  the  bright  side  of  everything 
before  you,  and  do  not  complain  because  you 
have  not  the  comforts  of  your  home.  Profitable 
travel  is  often  laborious,  and  like  all  well  ap- 
plied labor,  pays.  As  a  young  man  I  spent  two 
years  abroad  and  heard  not  a  word  as  to  my  affairs. 
Since  then  I  have  made  three  trips  to  Europe 
and  a  long  one  around  the  world.  Not  a  word 
on  either  of  them  did  I  hear  of  my  business. 
Once  a  month  during  a  Globe  Circuit  we  received 
a  cablegram  telling  us  of  the  health  of  the  loved 
ones  at  home. 

To  this  policy  I  have  ascribed  the  happiness 
and  much  of  the  benefits  received.  People  we 
met  in  various  quarters  of  the  world  looked 
regularly  for  and  got  advices  on  their  affairs 
and  were  often  uneasy  and  miserable,  but 
were  powerless  to  correct  anything  going  wrong. 
Passengers  on  this  ship  are  fretting  about  letters 
they  expect  to  get  at  Victoria.  I  have  heard 
nothing  for  a  month  and  expect  nothing  until  I 
wire  home.  If  one'  keeps  himself  hopeful  he 
can  adopt  as  his  traveling  motto,  u  No  news  is 
good  news."  Try  this  and  you  will  confess  you 
owe  me  a  good  fee  for  sound  advice. 


LETTER  VIII. 

VANCOUVER.  A  PICTURESQUE,  GROWING  CITY. 
A  RUN  OVER  THE  CANADIAN  PACIFIC.  MAG- 
NIFICENT SCENERY  MET  WITH  FROM  THE 

START.  A  GLORIOUS  RIDE.  FRASER  RIVER 
GLUTTED  WITH  SALMON.  A  NEVER-TIRING 
VIEW  FROM  GLACIER  HOUSE,  FOUR  THOUSAND 
FEET  ABOVE  THE  SEA.  RUGGED,  PRECIPITOUS 
GRANDEUR  OF  THE  SULK  IRKS  AND  ROCKIES. 
NATURAL  BEAUTIES  OF  BANFF.  REFLECTIONS 
AT  THE  u  SOO." 

CANADIAN  PACIFIC  STEAMER  ALBERTA, 
AT  SAULT  STE.  MARIE,  Aug.  23,  '90. 

Three  years  ago  I  wrote  quite  largely  on  a 
trip  over  the  Canadian  Pacific  Railway,  running 
from  east  to  west.  Perhaps  by  now  writing  of  it 
beginning  at  the  western  terminus,  an  appear- 
ance of  plagiarism  upon  myself  may  be  avoided. 
It  is  so  grand  a  road,  however,  and  the  magnifi- 
cence and  variety  of  scenery  offered  by  it  to  the 
traveler  are  so  great,  that  considerable  repetition 
may  be  permissible,  especially  as  the  probabili- 
ties are  that  only  a  few  ever  read  or  now  remem- 
bers what  I  said  before. 

My  Alaskan  letter  was  ended  at  Nanaimo.  A 
sail  of  three  hours  on  a  little  steamer  owned  in 
New  Zealand  and  lately  brought  from  Bombay 
brought  us  to  Vancouver.  It  seemed  some- 

162 


WRECK   OF   THE   BEAVER.  163 

what  singular  that  we  should  be  voyaging  on  a 
short  local  run  in  North-west  America  on  a  small 
steamer  owned  and  lately  doing  service  in  a  land 
so  far  away,  and  that  land,  too,  one  which  we  are 
prone  to  regard  as  our  ultima  thule,  whose  in- 
habitants are  but  one  degree  removed  from  the 
ragged  edge  of  savagery.  The  world  has  so  rap- 
idly progressed  since  many  of  us  studied  geogra- 
phy, that  we  have  scarcely  been  able  to  keep 
pace  with  its  strides.  We  have  to  pause  and 
think  to  be  able  to  realize  that  New  Zealand  is 
no  longer  the  land  of  savages,  but  is  populated 
by  a  highly  cultivated  and  energetic  people,  and 
abounds  in  splendid  cities. 

Before  reaching  Vancouver  we  saw  high  on 
the  rocks  the  hull  of  the  old  steamer  "  Beaver". 
It  was  the  first  steamer  to  cross  the  broad  Pacific 
brought  here  long  ago  by  the  Hudson  Bay  com- 
pany from  Bombay.  It  was  wrecked  only  last 
year,  but  is  already  in  this  humid  climate  green 
with  moss  and  ocean  weed. 

Vancouver  has  grown  marvelously.  Five  years 
since  its  site  was  covered  by  a  forest  of  enormous 
cedars  and  firs.  Three  years  ago  when  I  visited 
there,  it  had  only  seven  or  eight  hundred  popu- 
lation. Now  it  boasts  having  about  15,000.  It 
has  well  graded  streets,  a  few  of  them  paved  and 
several  well  planked;  fine  water  brought  in  from 
a  distance ;  blocks  of  handsome  stone  houses 


164  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  office  buildings  ;  commodious  and  elegant 
hotels,  and  many  handsome  residences.  If  I  be 
not  mistaken  I  suggested  it  three  years  ago  as 
a  good  place  for  safe  speculation.  Had  it  not 
been  for  the  long  voyage  then  before  me  I  should 
have  dropped  a  thousand  or  two  into  its  lots, 
and  would  have  been  considerably  richer  by  the 
venture. 

High  mountains  of  picturesque  contours  al- 
most surround  the  city.  It  is  a  sad  fact  that  at 
this  season  of  the  year  a  dense  shroud  of  smoke 
usually  envelopes  the  bulk  of  the  uplands. 
Fortunately  a  copious  rain  cleared  up  the  at- 
mosphere just  before  our  arrival.  We  passed 
through  the  town  three  years  ago  twice,  and  af- 
terwards lay  at  its  pier  three  days,  while  our 
ship  was  getting  ready  to  sail  for  Japan  ;  and  all 
the  while  supposed  the  place  was  a  great  forest 
plain,  until  the  morning  of  our  departure,  when 
a  rain  washed  down  the  smoke  and  revealed 
magnificent  mountain  scenery  close  about  us. 

To  one  taking  the  train  at  Vancouver  for  the 
East,  fine  scenery  faces  him  as  he  emerges  from 
the  station  and  then  continues  to  greet  the  eye, 
varying  and  growing  for  the  next  600  miles, 
never  once  tame,  often  beautiful  or  grand  and 
sublime,  and  frequently  terrible.  It  changes 
rapidly  and  as  unexpectedly  as  the  pictures 
presented  by  a  revolving  kaleidoscope.  Lofty 


FRASER   RIVER.  165 

mountains,  lifted  up  in  rounded  forms  of  granite, 
gneiss  and  other  igneous  rocks,  massive  and 
grand,  like  mighty  boulders  welded  together, 
with  monster  trees  in  the  valley  below,  and  tall 
and  straight  ones  high  above  wherever  a  ledge 
or  a  fissure  affords  their  hardy  roots  chance  to 
take  hold,  flank  the  road  for  the  first  ninety 
miles.  On  the  north  side  of  the  Frazer  River, 
whose  broad  white  stream  is  soon  reached,  and 
which  for  the  first  90  miles  runs  from  East  to 
West,  these  mountains  arise  immediately  from 
the  road.  Across  the  river  to  the  south  more  or 
less  removed,  from  one  to  several  miles,  they 
show  themselves  in  all  their  solid  grandeur. 

Rounded  boulder  shaped  mountains  of  granite 
or  igneous  rocks  are  to  me  far  more  impressive 
than  much  taller  ones  of  other  formations.  One 
feels  that  they  are  solid,  and  are  welded  to  the 
central  foundations  of  earth;  that  they  were  the 
offsprings  of  primal  overpowering  heat,  while 
the  others  are  made  up  of  tiny  particles  of  dis- 
integrated igneous  stone,  loosely  thrown  together 
by  glacial  moraines  or  dropped  at  ocean's  bot- 
tom, and  after  eons  of  time  compressed  into 
hardness.  Their  walls  were  uplifted  by  the  pres- 
sure from  below  of  belching  granite,  or  were 
crumbled  together  by  the  -cramped  earth,  and 
their  points,  pinnacles,  and  needless  were  fash- 
ioned by  rains  and  slow  chemical  processes. 


i66  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

They  are  the  offspring  of  other  than  their  own 
power  and  are  shaped  by  pnny  causes  acting 
through  untold  ages.  The  rounded  granite  moun- 
tains, however,  lifted  themselves  and  rushed 
forth  from  the  seat  of  earth's  central  fires, 
moved  by  their  own  inherent  forces. 

One  feels  that  mountains  of  secondary  rocks  are 
a  mass  of  tiny  things  thrown  aloft  as  the  creation 
of  other  than  their  own  powers.  They  may  tower 
far  above  the  snow  line,  and  may  pierce  the  vaulted 
sky  with  their  sharp  needles  and  tooth  like  pin- 
nacles in  the  silent  regions  of  eternal  ice ;  but 
we  know  that  their  loftiest  horns  once  lay  be- 
neath the  ocean's  wave,  and  after  being  hoisted 
as  an  impotent  mass,  have  been  cut  and  fash- 
ioned into  sharpness  by  the  gnawing  tooth  of 
frost.  We  know  that  they  were  borne  up  upon 
the  breast  of  boiling,  seething  primitive  rocks, 
and  that  they  now  rest  upon  the  shoulders  of 
granite  titans.  We  know  that  they  are  crumb- 
ling day  by  day,  and  are  being  borne  away  upon 
pigmy  streams  into  ocean  depths.  They  are 
perishable  and  are  perishing. 

But  yonder  rounded  form  whose  smooth  head 
barely  reaches  the  clouds,  has  its  foundations 
welded  by  inconceivably  fierce  fires ;  fires  kin- 
dled when  this  earth  was  rounded  by  the  will  of 
God  from  a  formless  void — welded  to  the  very 
base  and  heart  of  the  globe.  It  rose  upon  the 


A    GRAND    CANYON.  lj 

crest  of  a  molten  sea,  rending  and  tearing  away 
everything  its  way,  and  now  in  adamantine  cold- 
ness, seems  the  fit  emblem  of  eternal  duration. 

One  may  be  terrified  by  the  pinnacled  mon- 
ster, but  I  am  awed  by  the  rounded  giant. 

The  Canadian  Pacific  road  furnishes  observation 
cars  through  its  grand  mountain  scenery,  from 
a  point  some  sixty  miles  from  Vancouver  to  and 
into  the  plains  east  of  the  Rockies  or  for  six 
hundred  miles.  This  thoughtful  provision 
should  be  imitated  by  all  railroads  traversing 
fine  scenery. 

A    GRAND    CANYON. 

About  ninety  miles  from  Vancouver  the  milky 
Fraser  rushes  from  the  canyon  which  has  held 
it  in  a  close  embrace  for  a  hundred  miles ;  from 
a  chasm  where  the  mountains  have  been  split 
asunder,  and  now  tower  two  or  more  thousand 
feet  high,  their  feet  washed  in  the  turbulent 
stream,  their  heads  cutting  the  sky  in  pictur- 
esque lines.  The  mountains  along  the  canyon 
are  all  of  metamorphic  rock,  splintered  and 
shivered  by  too  rapid  cooling.  In  the  course  of 
some  millions  of  yeais  they  have  been  washed 
down,  so  that  what  were  once  perpendicular 
walls  have  become  precipitous  heights,  with 
every  ledge  and  projection  and  all  slopes  which 
can  hold  soil,  covered  by  dark  green  conifirae, 


i68  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  now  and  then  by  light  green  patches  of  de- 
ciduous shrubbery  and  small  hardwood  trees. 
Down  toward  the  water  the  rocks  are  harder, 
and  through  it  the  river  cuts  its  way  between 
walls  from  fifty  to  one  or  more  hundred  feet 
high.  These  walls  have  defied  the  flood,  and 
the  river  bends  and  winds  through  narrow  fis- 
sures fifty  to  eighty  feet  wide,  along  which 
the  white  fluid  rushes,  almost  with  cascade  force. 
Many  of  the  projecting  points  and  buttresses 
are  grotesque  and  picturesque  in  the  extreme. 

For  many  miles  along  the  canyon  an  old 
government  stage  road  hangs  on  escarped  walls 
or  dips  down  to  the  waters.  At  one  point, 
at  a  height  of  a  thousand  feet,  it  almost  hangs 
over  the  gorge,  serving  now  but  one  purpose,  to 
make  lady  tourists  exclaim  upon  the  cruelty  of 
making  even  gold  seekers  so  risk  themselves  as 
did  the  passengers  of  stage  coaches  a  score  or  so 
years  ago.  I  said  the  old  road  almost  hangs 
over  the  gorge.  In  fact  it  does  frequently  en- 
tirely hang.  For  it  was  timbered  out  so  that 
while  one  wheel  might  be  over  solid  rock,  the 
other  would  be  upon  wooden  sills  from  which  a 
pebble  could  be  dropped  a  hundred  feet  or  more 
below.  The  stage  road  cost  a  vast  sum,  and  is 
now  among  the  many  exhibitions  of  the  destruc- 
tiveness  of  capital  as  it  works  out  new  improve- 
ments. Every  valuable  creation  of  capital 


A    RIVER   FULL   OF   SALMON.  169 

wrecks  all  others  whose  place  it  takes.  The  older 
ones  have  performed  their  tasks,  and  now  be- 
come comparatively  useless. 

A   RIVER   BLACK  WITH    FISH. 

We  had  remarkably  visible  evidences  of  the 
strange  and  irresistible  instinct  of  the  salmon  to 
climb  steep  waters  from  the  sea.  For  many 
miles  the  Fraser  runs  or  rather  rushes  with 
great  speed.  Below  every  projecting  rock  there 
is  an  eddy  more  or  less  large.  In  these  eddies 
salmon  were  congregated  by  the  thousands, 
showing  their  black  backs  and  fins  an  inch  or 
two  above  the  surface.  These  little  swirling 
pools  are  generally  many  feet  deep,  and  the  finny 
voyagers  must  have  been  piled  several  deep  one 
on  the  other.  Over  one  crystal  stream  running 
into  the  river  the  road  passes  on  a  short  bridge. 
In  a  pool  in  this  creek,  say  twenty  by  fifty  feet, 
the  fish  were  so  thickly  packed  that  a  man  could 
almost  have  walked  dry  shod  across  the  stream 
on  salmon  backs.  In  the  ascent  of  the  fish  they 
fail  often  to  overcome  the  rapid  current  and  stop 
to  rest  in  the  eddies.  I  do  not  think  I  exagger- 
ate in  saying  we  saw  hundreds  of  thousands, 
possibly  millions,  in  a  part  of  our  run  not  ex- 
ceeding thirty  or  forty  miles.  The  fish  looked 
small  to  us,  for  only  a  few  inches  of  their  backs 
could  be  seen.  A  fellow  passenger,  however, 


170  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

assured  us  that  such  as  we  saw  ran  from  six  to 
nine  pounds.  They  were  the  sock-eye  salmon, 
the  fattest  and  best  variety  for  canning.  We  saw 
no  Indians  fishing  as  there  were  three  years  ago. 
Their  stock  is  already  laid  in  and  stored  away 
in  caches  built  upon  high  posts  or  up  among  the 
branches  of  spreading  trees. 

A  hundred  and  eighty  thousand  fish  averaging 
about  eight  pounds  weight  were  caught  in  one 
day  last  week  at  New  Westminster.  A  gentle- 
man of  the  locality  told  us  that  now  was  but  the 
beginning  of  the  running  season,  and  in  three 
weeks  there  would  be  a  hundred  thousand  where 
there  was  one  now.  A  scientist  was  probably 
not  mistaken  when  he  asserted  that  the  water  of 
the  world  could  produce  more  food  for  man,  acre 
for  acre,  than  the  land.  I  fear  the  canneries  are 
causing  too  many  to  be  killed  now. 

An  unitiated  person  would  have  thought  that 
great  sport  could  be  had  just  now  on  the  Fraser 
with  rod  and  line.  In  this,  had  he  made  the  ex- 
periment, he  would  have  been  grievously  mis- 
taken. The  salmon  when  on  the  run  never  rise 
to  the  fly  or  takes  any  food.  They  start  from 
the  ocean  very  fat  and  live  on  their  fat  until  the 
spawning  season  is  over,  by  which  time  they  be- 
come so  lean  as  to  be  scarcely  edible.  Indeed, 
the  great  bulk -of  them  die  of  injuries  suffered 
on  their  upward  run  or  of  starvation.  Thousands 


NATURE'S  QUEER  WAYS.  171 

are  seen  floating  later  in  the  season  down 
the  upper  streams,  bruised,  torn  and  emaciated. 
The  people  out  here  have  the  impression  that  a 
salmon  never  feeds  again  after  leaving  the  sea 
in  its  spawning  journey,  and  that  none  of  the 
vast  millions  which  commence  the  voyage  ever 
return.  They  spawn  and  die.  This  fish  will 
spawn  in  a  few  weeks  in  the  clear  brooks  and 
streams  high  up  among  the  mountains.  The 
eggs  lie  dormant  until  the  warmth  of  next 
years'  sun  hatches  them  out.  The  small  fry 
has  then  the  clear  water  to  commence  its  life  in. 
It  feeds,  grows  and  runs  down  to  the  sea  there- 
after to  do  and  die  as  its  progenitors  have  been 
doing  since  the  race  began. 

Nature's  ways  are  very  queer,  and  it  seems  to 
permit  more  inconceivable  things  to  be  done  by 
its  creatures  beneath  the  water  than  upon  the 
land.  A  fish  disporting  itself  in  a  limpid 
stream  or  gently  propelling  itself  deep  down  in 
the  transparent  sea,  appears  to  be  absolutely  en- 
joying existence — to  be  reveling  in  his  "dolce  far 
niente,"  and  yet  it  would  seem  that  the  whole 
finny  family  is  spawned  to  bear  the  whips  and 
spurs  of  most  cruel  fate.  From  the  instant  a 
little  fellow  emerges  from  the  egg  up  to  his  ful- 
lest growth,  he  is  always  on  the  ragged  edge  of 
some  bigger  fish's  maw.  He  climbs  with  inten- 
sest  labor  the  rushing  stream  from  the  instinct 


172  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

of  procreation,  and  then  begins  to  die  from  slow 
inanition — the  cruelest  of  deaths.  Experiment 
has  shown  that  the  fish  learns  nothing  by  study 
— everything  is  from  instinct ;  that  he  has  no 
sense  whatever.  Lucky  fish  :  for  surely  to  him 
ignorance  is  bliss. 

TWO    HUNDRED    MILES    ON    A    COWCATCHER. 

Three  }'ears  ago  I  rode  along  a  part  of  Thomp- 
son Canyon  and  down  the  whole  of  Fraser  into 
Vancouver,  some  200  miles,  on  the  cowcatcher. 
It  is  the  most  delightful  of  all  railroad  running. 
We  are  ahead  of  the  train.  We  seem  not  to  be 
on  wheels,  but  simply  to  be  gliding  along  the 
iron  way,  propelled  by  an  invisible  impulse. 
There  is  no  jar,  no  dust  nor  cinders.  Over 
trestles  a  hundred  feet  high  of  frail  and  creak- 
ing timbers  we  rush  without  the  least  uneasiness 
or  anxiety,  for  the  machine  and  train  being  be- 
hind us  and  unseen  we  do  not  realize  that  hun- 
dreds of  tons  are  being  whirled  over  the  frail 
bridge-work,  and  forget  that  there  is  anything 
heavier  upon  them  than  our  own  weight ;  onward 
we  slide ;  a  turn  brings  us  face  to  face  with  a 
mighty  precipice;  we  are  rushing  headlong 
against  the  rocky  barrier  when  a  sudden  bend 
around  a  jutting  point,  reveals  before  us  a  hole 
in  the  rocky  mass ;  into  it  we  are  shot — into 
the  dark ;  a  roar  is  heard  behind  us  as  if  a  thousand 


MOUNTAINS   AND   TUNNELS.  173 

demons  are  after  us  in  full  chase;  a  glimmer 
of  light  steals  along  the  iron  ribbons  before 
us,  and  then  we  burst  into  the  broad  day  with  a 
new  and  beautiful  scene  pictured  for  our  delight; 
down  below  us  rushes  the  river  through  deep 
fissures  between  the  rocky  walls ;  high  above  us 
lift  mountains  cutting  the  sky  with  bands  of 
snow  along  the  upper  heights ;  past  Indian  ham- 
lets, near  which  sits  a  squaw  or  two  and  lounges 
a  lazy  buck,  while  their  children  look  at  us  as 
we  fly  along  in  indolent  carelessness.  Tunnel 
after  tunnel,  about  thirty  in  all,  swallow  and 
then  throw  us  forth.  Once  on  the  Thompson, 
the  iron  ribbons  ahead  rest  one  on  the  ground, 
the  other  on  timbers  projecting  over  a  precipice. 
Over  it  we  glide.  Fifteen  hundred  feet  below 
runs  the  silvery  stream,  so  nearly  under  us  that 
we  think  we  could  pitch  a  penny  into  it.  But 
so  lightly  do  we  skim  along  that  we  feel  no 
tremor.  Ah  !  mine  was  a  beautiful  ride.  It  was 
three  years  ago,  but  as  I  looked  at  the  same  road 
as  we  passed  along  it  a  few  days  ago,  the  whole 
picture  came  back  to  me,  and  I  feel  sure  the 
memory  of  it  will  live  with  me  while  I  live. 

Up  the  Thompson  we  came  now,  and  saw 
some  beautiful  valley  farms  early  at  daybreak, 
with  bright  wheat  fields,  cozy  homes,  and  sleek- 
looking  stock.  The  mountains  above  were 
mighty  uplifted  long  mounds,  not  rocky,  broken 


i74  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

nor  peaked.  Pines  were  scattered  over  them  as 
if  they  were  planted  in  upland  parks — isolated 
trees,  just  enough  to  make  parks  bright,  while 
over  the  ground  was  spread  a  carpet  of  velvet 
of  a  brownish  drab.  This  effect  was  from  the 
low  bunch  grass,  now  dried  into  hay.  This  grass 
is  short,  but  sustains  all  winter  through  cattle 
in  oily  fat.  The  Thompson  finally  came  up  to 
a  level  with  us,  and  was  a  clear  and  dignified 
river,  making  the  meadows  green.  After  a 
while  it  broadened  into  a  great  lake — the 
"  Shuswap  " — along  whose  pebbly  shore,  under 
great  sloping  mountains,  we  ran  for  over  a  third 
of  a  hundred  miles.  The  Shuswap  is  an  irreg- 
ular sheet  with  long  arms.  No  where  is  it 
much  if  any  over  a  mile  wide.  High  mountains 
lift  from  the  water  and  mount  upward  in  gentle 
slopes,  well  wooded.  In  a  few  places  there  are 
tiny  plains  at  their  feet.  On  these  are  the  wig- 
wams of  the  Shuswap  tribe  of  Indians. 

Leaving  this  beautiful  sheet  we  entered  a 
range  of  mountains  lofty  and  grand,  with  now 
and  then  a  shoulder  mantled  with  snow.  Three 
years  ago  this  range  was  all  green  with  noble 
trees ;  now,  as  far  as  we  could  see,  the  fire  fiend 
has  done  its  work,  leaving  forests  of  tall  trunks 
in  gray,  with  a  fresh  undergrowth  beginning  to 
spring.  Even  yet,  however,  the  Gold  Mountains 
are  a  noble  range. 


A   PICTURE    OF    MOUNTAIN    SCENERY.       175 

It  would  seem  we  had  seen  enough  of  the 
grand.  But  wait.  We  reach  a  broad  flowing 
river  coming  from  the  north.  It  is  white  with 
detritus  ground  from  the  eternal  ribs  of  earth  by 
the  irresistible  march  of  glaciers.  It  is  our 
own  Columbia,  which  has  been  paying  hei 
Majesty's  American  land  a  short  visit  before  it 
sweeps  with  majesty  towards  the  Pacific.  We 
cross  this  and  enter  upon  a  wealth  of  mountain 
scenery,  which  belittles  what  we  have  passed 
through,  though  we  thought  it  so  fine.  High  to 
the  right  lifts  a  monarch  capped  with  snow. 
High  to  our  left  is  a  huge  pair  of  twins,  the 
double  head  of  a  monster. 

Our  iron  horse  pants  along  a  rushing  river  cut- 
ting with  foaming  torrent  through  chasms  so  nar- 
row that  the  father  of  our  land  could  have  leaped 
across  them  in  the  spring-tide  of  his  manhood.  Up, 
up  we  climb,  twenty-eight  hundred  feet  in  less  than 
fifty  miles.  The  river  along  which  we  climb  is 
always  lashing  itself  into  creamy  foam  ;  now  in 
rushing  rapids,  then  in  a  succession  of  leaps  one 
after  the  other,  as  if  in  mad  frolic  ;  now  almost 
throwing  its  spray  into  our  faces  ;  then  two  or 
three  hundred  feet  down  in  rocky  canyons,  and  at 
one  place  through  a  notched  and  jagged  cleft  in 
the  rock,  over  two  hundred  feet  deep,  and  only 
twenty-five  feet  wide  at  the  top.  This  is  the 
Albert  Canyon.  Mountains  tower  over  us,  pile 


176  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

upon  pile,  thickly  tree  clad  below,  but  to  a  larger 
extent  gray  with  lofty  trunks  all  dead  and  bare 
from  forest  fires.  I  do  not  know  but  these  fires 
have  been  a  friend  to  the  tourist.  For  his  vision 
is  widened. 

When  I  was  there  three  years  since,  there 
had  been  in  the  Selkirks  but  few  destruct- 
ive fires.  The  forests  were  so  dense  that  we 
often  lost  fine  bits  of  view,  which  are  now  free 
to  us.  We  look  aloft  and  see  great  snow-fields, 
glimmering  through  openings  between  the 
mountains  nearest  us.  We  put  our  glasses  up 
and  catch  the  green  tints  in  furrowed  snow 
masses  which  tell  us  we  are  looking  at  glaciers. 
Up  !  up !  The  mountains  become  higher  and 
the  precipices  bolder  and  the  torrent  at  our  feet 
more  fierce  and  foaming.  We  halt  for  a  moment 
at  Illecillewact,  said  to  be  a  rich  mining  camp. 
Far  over  us  thousands  feet,  on  the  side  of  the 
mountain,  so  steep  that  it  seems  to  us  a  sheer 
precipice,  we  see  what  looks  like  a  mere  burrow 
for  a  wild  animal.  Men  are  delving  through  it 
in  quest  of  silver  ore. 

After  a  while  we  see  what  appears  to  be  an- 
other railroad  coming  down  the  mountain  side 
parallel  to  ours,  and  a  couple  of  hundred  feet 
above  us.  A  wise  one  smiles  and  tells  us  it  is 
our  own  road  which  here  makes  a  letter  "  S  "  — a 
loop  almost  doubling  upon  itself,  and  a  large 


A    CROOKED    ROAD.  177 

part  of  it  on  winding  trestles.  The  trestles 
creak  and  groan  beneath  us,  but  we  bend  around 
and  back  upon  them,  and  soon  our  whistle 
screams.  A  quick  turn  around  a  spur  reveals  a 
frozen  stream  bending  over  a  lofty  mountain 
brow,  like  a  curtain  of  white  with  irregular 
streaks  of  pale  green,  and  sending  its  foot  almost 
down  to  our  level.  But  bend  your  head  back. 
Far  up  over  us  is  Sir  Donald  piercing  the  sky ; 
a  sharp  pointed  three-faced  rock  lifting  over 
11,500  feet,  under  whose  shadow  we  will  halt  at 
Glacier  House,  over  4,000  feet  above  the  sea, 
while  the  pointed  peak  above  us,  all  rock,  stands 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  higher  and  so  close  that 
one  would  think  a  man  on  its  pinnacle  could  al- 
most throw  a  stone  to  the  platform  on  which 
stands  the  pretty  hotel. 

We  stop  a  day  here.  I  spent  three  or  four 
days  there  three  years  ago  and  would  never  pass 
it  without  a  few  hours'  pause.  Few  spots  on 
earth  afford  a  sublimer  picture  than  is  seen  from 
Glacier  House  in  the  Selkirks.  It  is  a  vast  aud- 
itorium; stage  and  audience-hall,  not  a  half  mile 
wide,  with  lofty  mountains  stretching  along  either 
side  six  of  seven  miles — all  covered  by  noble 
trees  below  and  snow  sheeted  above.  Sir  Donald 
cold  and  rocky,  is  on  one  side,  glaciered  heights 
on  the  other. 


178  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

HEMMED    IN    BY    ROCKY    HEIGHTS. 

A  mighty  glacier  hangs  down  like  a  snowy 
drop  curtain  over  the  rear  of  the  auditorium, 
while  a  straight  line  of  mountain  heights  en- 
closes the  stage.  This  line  is  jagged  and  toothed 
on  its  crest,  with  lofty  glaciers  glistening  under 
the  pinnacles.  Sitting  on  the  platform  in  front 
of  the  pretty  station  hotel  just  before  sunset, 
watching  the  sunlight  climb  the  rocky  heights 
eastward,  while  those  to  the  west  were  sinking  into 
grayness,  and  then  a  little  later  as  the  daylight 
dodges  into  twilight  and  all  becomes  first  a 
mellow  gray,  cold  and  repellent,  except  over  the 
snow,  which  seems  to  emit  a  light  all  its  own — 
sitting  thus  one  sees  a  picture  equaled  in  few 
spots  of  the  world. 

The  entire  scene  is  enclosed  by  mountains,  as 
in  a  great  oblong  pit  with  corners  rounded  off, 
no  outlet  being  apparent.  The  mountains  seem 
to  close  in  upon  the  glorious  picture.  It  should 
be  seen  just  before  and  after  sunset  and  until  the 
lessening  twilight  is  swallowed  up,  and  then  in 
the  morning,  when  the  grayness  high  above  seems 
crystallized.  The  very  light  encircling  the  peaks 
seem  frozen  until  a  sun  ray  kisses  Sir  Donald's 
peak.  The  cold  rocks  then  catch  a  yellow  glow 
and  the  snows  below  ere  long  are  tinted  with  pink. 
Three  years  ago  I  looked  at  it  morning  and  evening 


SELKIRKS   AND   ROCKIES.  179 

for  three  or  four  days,  and  on  this  trip  one  morn- 
ing and  evening. 

A  short  run  brings  the  Eastward  bound  trav- 
eler to  Rogers  pass,  one  of  the  ruggedest  ever 
traversed  by  railroad.  Lofty  rocky  mountains  are 
all  around  with  cold  glaciers  hanging  near  their 
crests. 

The  drop  down  to  the  eastward  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Selkirk  Mountains  to  the  western  edge 
of  the  Rockies  is  all  the  way  grand.  We  again 
cross  the  Columbia,  which  runs  north  skirt- 
ing the  Selkirk  range,  and  flows  again  south- 
ward past  the  point  crossed  by  us  two  days  be- 
fore and  seventy  miles  back  but  a  hundred  and 
twenty  five  around.  Then  for  some  miles  we 
look  upon  these  two  mighty  ranges,  one  on  our 
right  and  the  other  on  our  left.  Both  are  lofty, 
broken,  and  pinnacled,  and  snow  clothes  many 
summits  of  each,  yet  they  are  strangely  unlike 
each  other — as  much  so  as  if  belonging  to  widely 
distant  regions. 

As  we  ran  up  the  Columbia  the  day  grew  hot,  un- 
til at  Golden  it  was  absolutely  sweltering.  We  had 
felt  nothing  like  it  for  nearly  a  month.  We  were 
glad  to  quit  the  Columbia  and  enter  a  mighty  gorge 
cooled  by  the  sprays  from  the  Kicking  Horse,  a 
wildly  rushing  river  coming  down  from  the  sum- 
mit of  the  Rockies.  Up  this  foaming  torrent, 
between  lofty  mountains,  along  gorges  barely  wide 


180  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

enough  to  permit  the  river  to  leap  between,  the 
road  cuts  its  way  in  galleries  of  rocks ;  through 
tunnels  now  on  one  side  of  the  river,  then  on  the 
other,  and  enters  and  winds  high  up  a  broad 
valley  between  great  mountains  stretching  north 
and  south.  It  would  seem  the  climb  was  ended, 
but  not  so.  We  have  to  take  some  fifteen  or 
more  miles  among  the  loftiest  mountains  of  the 
great  backbone  of  the  continent,  looking  up  ever 
at  gray  rocks  piercing  the  sky  6,000  to  8,000  feet 
almost  sheer  over  us  ;  looking  down  into  narrow 
valleys  or  rather  gorges  1,000  and  2,000  feet 
below  us.  Almost  overwhelmed  by  nature's 
grandeur,  we  climb,  while  a  great  engine  puffs 
and  groans  before  us,  and  another  pants  and 
wheezes  pushing  behind.  Even  with  these  two 
great  iron  horses,  tugging  behind  and* before, 
we  make  not  much  more  speed  than  a  rapid  pe- 
destrian could  walk  were  he  on  the  level.  We 
are  climbing  a  grade  of  about  200  feet  in  the 
mile. 

SILVER   LADEN   MT.    STEPHEN. 

But  see  that  line  of  timbering  hugging  the  face 
of  Mt.  Stephen.  A  prospector  from  across  the 
mighty  gorge  saw  with  his  glass  a  quartz  vein  on 
Stephen.  By  perilous  climbing  along  ledges  he 
visited  it,  to  find  a  rich  ledge  of  silver  ore.  Yon- 
der long  gallery  carved  out  of  the  rock's  face  is 


SILVER   MINES.  l8l 

for  miners  to  go  to  the  vein  to  bore  into  the 
mountain's  heart  or  wherever  the  vein  leads 
them.  They  would  tunnel  through  the  fiery 
walls  of  Hades  if  pure  free  silver  were  floating 
on  the  top  of  the  Devil's  soup  boiler. 

I  wronder  if  those  fellows  up  in  yonder  gallery 
ever  pause  to  take  in  the  grandeur  of  the  scenery 
thrown  about  them.  The  mighty  Giver  of  Good 
heaped  up  those  piles  of  grandeur  and  beauty. 
The  preachers  intimate  that  the  imp  of  darkness 
tempts  us  poor  mortals  with  gold  and  silver.  Be- 
lieving as  they  do  in  the  existence  of  a  personal 
devil  outside  of  man's  nature,  they  should  bow 
down  and  beg  him  to  be  good  natured  until  their 
race  be  safe.  They  are  powerless  to  hurt  him. 
Luther'sbible  biternpty  air;  to  abuse  the  devilonly 
makes  one's  throat  sore,  and  some  people  really 
grow  savage  in  their  denunciation  of  Old  Nick. 
I  once  met  a  really  good,  pious  woman  who 
hated  bad  words,  but  did  not  disdain  to  utter 
real  cuss  words  when  denouncing  his  Satanic 
Majesty.  The  Arab  tribe  call  Satan  the  name- 
less one.  Some  preachers  should  follow  suit. 
Abusing  the  devil  has  been  done  for  countless 
ages,  and  to  all  appearances  the  old  knave  has 
as  much  power  as  when  he  poured  sweet  poison 
into  Mother  Eve's  too  willing  ears.  Poor  thing ! 
She  was  not  used  to  apples,  a^nd  a  golden  pippin 
was  tempting.  In  these  latter  days  it  takes 


182  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

apples  of  real  gold  to  win  a  woman,  at  least  among 
the  "  four  hundred."  But  my  eye  !  a  shower  of 
such  fruit  can  twine  her  plump  arms  about  the 
devil's  neck  even  when  blue  blazes  are  pouring 
from  his  benzine  distilling  lungs.  But,  pshaw  ! 
What  a  disposition  a  pious  man  has  to  preach. 
I  must  quit  it. 

It  is  hard  to  determine  which  affords  the 
grandest  scenery,  the  Selkirks  or  the  Rockies. 
On  a  first  run  on  this  road  probably  nine  out  of 
ten  would  say  the  former,  but  the  second  or  the 
third  trip  would  put  the  latter  fully  up.  They 
are  of  as  different  types  as  if  separated  by  a 
continent.  Both  are  broken,  notched  and  peaked, 
yet  they  affect  the  beholder  differently.  The 
Selkirks  are  grand  and  terrible,  the  Rockies 
majestic  and  gloomy. 

The  Illiclliwact  (Indian  for  rapid  water)  and 
the  Kicking  Horse,  the  two  rivers  which  rush 
from  the  two  ranges  westward — the  former 
into  the  Columbia  at  Revelstoke,  the  other 
into  the  same  river  a  hundred  and  odd 
miles  above  at  Golden — are  somewhat  different 
types  of  torrent  rivers.  The  Kicking  Horse  on 
the  summit  at  Hector,  springs  from  a  deep,  dark, 
but  calm  lake  a  mile  above  the  sea.  A  mile  or 
so  eastward,  and  a  half  a  dozen  feet  higher  at 
the  actual  summit,  is  a  shallow  little  lake,  or 
rather  a  system  of  short,  deep  morasses.  A 


BANFF.  183 

mild  wind  from  the  west  would  take  their  waters 
into  the  Bow  River,  which  flows  into  the  Sas- 
katchewan, then  through  Lake  Winnipeg  and 
on  to  Hudson  Bay,  while  a  breeze  from  the  East 
carries  a  part  of  their  currents  into  the  grand 
Columbia  and  then  into  the  mighty  Pacific. 

How  like  the  fate  of  men  !  A  shower  or  a  cloud 
of  dust  sent  a  mighty  one  to  pine  on  a  bleak  isle 
in  a  far-off  sea,  and  made  another  moderate  man 
the  idol  of  a  nation  and  its  chosen  Nestor.  An 
invisible  line  with  a  name  separated  the  birth- 
places of  two  men,  and  this  simple  separation 
made  one  of  them  the  leader  of  a  lost  cause  but 
the  idol  of  millions,  and  the  other  the  victorious 
hero  whom  history  may  call  the  savior  of  a  na- 
tion. In  our  every-day  life  in  modest  places,  we 
see  the  most  trivial  circumstances,  mere  straws, 
turning  the  fortunes  of  nearly  all  whom  we  have 
known  intimately.  It  would  probably  amaze 
most  people  to  find  how  small  the  thing  was 
which  sent  them  to  high  fortune,  or  led  their  feet 
into  paths  of  mediocrity  or  on  the  road  to  adver- 
sity. 

A  run  from  nine  to  ten  hours  from  Glacier, 
always  through  grand  and  majestic  scenery  and 
often  among  terrible  and  gloomy  heights  and 
gorges,  brought  us  to  Banff,  near  the  western 
slope  of  the  Rockies.  Shortly  after  leaving 
Vancouver,  we  had  mounted  the  observation  car, 


184  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  continued  on  one  of  them  except  at  night,  until 
well  into  the  great  plains  east  of  the  mountains. 
This  system  adds  greatly  to  the  pleasure  of  pass- 
ing through  fine  scenery. 

PANORAMIC  BEAUTIES  OF  BANFF. 

Banff  is  by  many  considered  the  gem  of  this 
great  road,  because  of  its  beautiful  location  and 
also  because  of  its  warm  and  hot  mineral  springs. 
The  Canadian  Pacific  company  has  erected  here 
the  most  elegant  and  best  appointed  hotel  which 
can  be  found  in  a  wild  mountainous  region  prob- 
ably in  the  world.  Indeed  it  will  compare  favor- 
ably with  the  best  hostelries  in  the  neighbor- 
hood of  large  cities. 

Here  in  a  wild  basin  of  the  mighty  backbone  of 
the  continent,  2,300  miles  from  Montreal,  nearly 
1,000  from  Winnipeg,  and  6co  from  Vancouver, 
with  no  populous  or  productive  lands  contiguous, 
but  surrounded  by  nature's  boldest  and  roughest 
works,  in  which  are  the  haunts  of  wild  beasts — 
here  one  finds  all  the  elegances  and  comforts  of 
a  city's  suburbs;  all  of  the  delicacies  and  luxuries 
of  a  city  hotel,  coupled  with  the  hygiene  of  a  sani- 
tarium, the  ozone  and  bracing  atmosphere  of  a 
lofty  altitude,  and  the  glorious  scenery  of  a 
mountain  fastness.  The  house  is  architecturally 
very  fine  and  all  its  appointments  are  first  class. 
It  has  a  French  Chef  presiding  over  the  kitchen, 


•    PICTURESQUE   SCENERY.  185 

who  sends  to  the  table  dishes  to  satisfy  an  epi- 
cure. The  house  and  grounds  are  lighted  by 
electricity  which  adds  greatly  to  the  beauty  of 
the  place  at  night.  In  the  drawing  rooms,  sur- 
rounded by  costly  furniture,  one  can  listen  to 
music  from  a  superb  piano,  and  in  the  dining 
saloon  can  satisfy  the  most  voracious  or  the  most 
epicurean  taste. 

One  can  loiter  lazily  around  the  broad  piazzas 
girdling  the  great  hotel,  and  let  vision  lose  itself 
among  lofty,  rocky,  grotesque  mountains,  or  sit 
in  graceful  Kiosk  observatories  overlooking  a 
bold  river  tumbling  near  by  in  a  furious  cascade. 
One  can  watch  the  limpid,  green  waters  of  a 
large  mountain  stream  meeting  and  unwillingly 
mingling  with  those  of  a  milk-white,  glacier-fed 
river,  just  below  the  vortex  under  the  cascade. 
One  can  wander  in  pretty  pine  woods  on  gentle 
slopes;  can  drive  or  ride  along  well- graveled 
roads  through  the  National  Park,  now  along 
limpid  streams,  then  on  winding  curves  or 
mounting  by  zig-zag  bold  rocky  heights;  can 
bathe  in  porcelain  tubs  filled  by  hot  mineral 
waters  just  from  plutonic  laboratories  far  below 
the  mountain's  foundations,  and  then  sweat  in 
soft  blankets  almost  as  white  as  snow,  or  can  by 
a  tunnel  through  lava  rocks  reach  a  grotto  or 
cave  scooped  out  by  agencies  of  hot  water — a 
veritable  gothic  room  in  the  rock,  lighted  dimly 


i86  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

from  a  small  aperture  in  the  apex.  Here  in  this 
gem  of  a  natatorium  one  can  swim  in  water  above 
blood  heat,  five  feet  deep  and  twenty-five  from 
rim  to  rim.  When  satiated  with  his  warm  bath 
in  this  glorious  pool,  he  can  mount  a  great  sta- 
lagmite on  one  side — a  stalagmite  resembling  a 
huge  mushroom — and  a  shower  of  cool  water 
from  a  natural  spring  tumbles  from  above  upon 
him,  or  he  can  stand  waist  deep  in  the  warm  em- 
brace of  the  fluid  while  the  cool  sprays  fall  upon 
his  head  and  shoulders. 

If  one  prefers  an  outdoor  swim  he  can  splash  in 
asulphur  spring  forty  feet  across,  of  Nature's  fash- 
ioning, while  bubbling  through  sands  at  his  feet 
water  heated  to  95  degrees  rises  and  lures  him  to 
swimming  depth.  If  he  prefer  a  real  genuine  swim 
he  finds  it  near  the  back  door  of  the  hotel  in  a  tank  a 
hundred  feet  long,  in  fresh  cold  water  with  the 
air  barely  taken  off.  In  his  room  he  has  a  soft 
bed  to  sleep  upon,  surrounded  by  tasty  furni- 
ture, and  eats  in  a  large  dining  room  attended  by 
silent  waiters,  and  provided  with  fruits,  wines 
and  viands  fit  to  satisfy  the  most  fastidious. 

Close  under  the  hotel  an  angler  now  and  then 
catches  a  trout  of  over  a  pound  weight,  and  in  a 
lake  a  few  miles  off  in  the  park  is  rewarded  with 
speckled  fellows  of  fine  size,  and  with  lake  trout 
not  infrequently  running  up  to  forty  pounds.  I 
met  at  Glacier  Mr.  E.  S.  P.,  of  Chicago,  with  his 


MOUNTAIN   PALACES.  187 

family  going  west.  He  caught  a  fine  lot  of  fish 
in  Devil's  Lake  near  Banff,  one  a  lake  trout 
weighing  thirty-six  pounds.  There  are  few 
mountain  resorts  offering  so  many  natural  at- 
tractions as  this  Rocky  Mountain  hot  spring. 

The  mountains  around  are  nearly  all  built  of 
horizontal  stratified  rocks.  Some  of  them  present 
curious  resemblances.  One  is  a  mighty  palace  of 
several  stories — each  upper  one  recedingbackfrom 
the  one  below.  It  reminds  me  much  of  old  orien- 
tal palaces  visited  when  we  were  making  our  race 
with  the  sun.  This  palace-like  appearance  is, 
however,  lost  upon  the  majority  of  tourists,  be- 
cause one  end  of  the  mountain  presents  the  like- 
ness of  a  huge  templar  warrior  reclining  in 
miles  of  stature.  This  picture  is  so  grotesque, 
that  the  other  passes  unobserved. 

I  cannot  recall  anywhere  else  in  the  world,  a 
group  of  mountains,  whose  rocks  are  so  distinctly 
horizontal  in  their  beds,  as  those  in  this  part  of  the 
Rockies.  They  look  as  if  there  had  once  been  a 
vast  upland  plateau,  which  had  been  partly 
abraded  and  washed  away,  leaving  lofty  moun- 
tains more  or  less  snow  covered  throughout  the 
year,  and  many  of  them  always  clothed  in 
mantles  of  white.  The  wear  of  countless  eons 
of  rains  and  frosts  have  made  deep  valleys  and 
gorges  and  the  beds  of  beautiful  rivers,  and 
rushing  torrents,  leaving  the  slopes  of  the 


1 88  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

mountains  generally  not  too  steep  to  afford  foot- 
ing for  thick  forests  or  for  bands  and  copses  of 
firs  and  pines.  Now  and  then  the  mountains 
are  so  broken  down  as  to  present  mighty  preci- 
pices— clean  cut  cleavages,  as  if  a  single  moun- 
tain had  been  split  and  sundered  in  two. 

NORTHWESTERN   PLAINS   FRUITFUL. 

My  friend,  the  late  visitor  from  Chicago  to  the 
Shah  of  Persia,  whom  we  left,  with  his  daugh- 
ters, aboard  ship  at  Nanaimo,  overtook  us  at 
Banff,  where  we  spent  two  days.  He  rarely 
enthuses  over  scenery  and  has  little  love  of 
Nature  or  its  beauties.  Switzerland  is  to  him 
worth  one  visit,  but  no  more,  and  Tyrol  is  a 
bore.  He  loves  travel,  but  to  travel  among  the 
haunts  of  men  and  women,  not  of  Nature.  Ber- 
lin and  London  are  pleasant  places,  but  Paris  is 
his  paradise.  He  had  been  filled  with  ennui  on 
the  whole  Alaskan  journey,  and  had  uttered  but 
once  an  exclamation  of  pleasure,  and  that  was 
when  we  sailed  out  of  Glacier  Bay.  He  then 
cried  out,  u  Thank  heaven  our  ship  is  turned 
homeward."  Even  he  is  really  somewhat  enthu- 
siastic over  the  beauties  of  the  Canadian  road 
and  is  charmed  by  Banff.  I  suspect,  however, 
all  because  of  getting  through  quickly.  He 
could  enjoy  the  rush  through  towering  moun- 
tains, because  he  was  getting  where  he  could 
revel  in  rising  stocks. 


BUFFALO   WALLOWS.  189 

The  plains  east  of  the  mountains  on  this  road 
are  beautiful.  Great  sweeps  of  land  in  more  or 
less  lifting  benches  stretch  north  and  south  as 
far  as  the  eye  can  reach  ;  not  bleak  or  parched 
or  covered  with  the  dead  ash  color  of  sage  brush,  as 
the  same  plains  are  south  of  our  boundary,  but 
fairly  green  and  restful  to  the  eye.  We  tried 
to  go  back  in  fancy  to  long  ago  years,  when 
countless  thousands  buffalo  marched  in  single 
file  along  the  trails  which  they  cut  down  into  the 
hard  soil,  and  which  are  yet  seen  crossing  our 
road  nearly  north  and  south.  We  tried  to  count 
the  deep  buffalo  wallows,  bored  by  horns  and 
scooped  out  by  hoofs,  where  the  shaggy  bulls 
tossed  the  dust  and  sent  up  clouds  which  made 
the  air  thick  for  many  a  mile  around.  We  saw 
in  fancy  the  heavy  maned  bulls  and  heard  their 
bellowings,  which  won  the  gaze  and  admiration 
of  the  mild  eyed  cows.  We  recalled  how  these 
thousands  of  wallows  would  be  filled  by  the  next 
rains,  and  how  succeeding  herds  would  bathe  in 
the  mud,  and  then  march  onward  a  moving  mass 
of  thick  mortar.  Thousands  of  these  wallows 
are  seen,  and  for  several  hundred  miles  the  fur- 
rowed trails  are  rarely  out  of  sight  for  many 
miles.  They  generally  run  in  nearly  parallel 
lines  from  north  to  south  ;  now  and  then  de- 
flected to  get  around  an  Alkali  lake  or  pool :  or 
where  old  leaders  had  scented  pure  water  ahead 


190  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  bent  their  way  toward  it,  and  all  of  the 
mighty  hosts  following  the  lead.  What  count- 
less thousands  there  must  have  been  !  The  In- 
dians killed  them,  but  killed  them  for  food  or 
for  raiment.  The  white  man  came  ;  he  who  was 
fashioned  in  the  image  of  his  God ;  he  who 
claims  to  be  a  follower  of  Him  who  taught 
charity  to  all  things  and  gentleness  of  spirit — 
he  came  in  his  boasted  civilization — born  of 
families  whose  pedigrees  run  back  a  thousand 
years — and  killed  and  slew  in  the  mere  love  of 
killing — killed  and  slew  simply  because  he 
could  kill  and  slay.  One  of  the  crudest  wars 
ever  waged,  was  the  insane  crusade  against  the 
bison  of  the  plains.  Now  these  plains  will  know 
no  more  forever  their  old  tenants. 

Occasionally  troops  of  horses  and  herds  of 
cattle  are  seen,  but  for  nearly  a  day's  ride  there 
are  only  scattered  farms,  and  they  are  as  yet  not 
prosperous  ;  but  in  Bastern  Assiniboia  and  in 
Manitoba  farms  became  more  frequent  and  crops 
looked  well,  until  finally  in  the  latter  province 
broad  fields  of  fine  wheat  and  oats  and  farm- 
houses covered  the  prairie  as  far  as  we  could  see. 
The  improvement  in  the  prairie  land,  running 
some  200  miles  on  our  line,  has  wonderfully 
grown  since  I  was  there  three  years  ago.  The 
breadth  of  grain  standing  or  being  harvested  is 
great.  I  am  told  there  will  be  a  yield  this  year 


GOOD   FISHING. 

of  twenty  million  bushels.  These  people  boast 
that  their  hard-shell  wheat  is  decidedly  superior 
to  that  of  Dakota  and  Minnesota.  It  is  now 
very  cold  and  frosts  are  feared.  The  wheat  is 
largely  out  of  danger,  but  oats  need  some  two  or 
more  weeks  of  good  weather  yet.  Root  crops 
seem  good  on  the  plains  where  wheat  is  not  yet 
a  success.  The  plains  are  in  Assiniboia,  the 
prairies  in  Manitoba. 

At  Winnipeg  my  friends  went  south.  I  con- 
tinued on  the  rail  to  Port  Arthur.  There  is  not 
much  worth  seeing  east  of  Winnipeg.  Thin 
pine  land  of  small  trees  are  seen,  generally  flat, 
with  rounded  rising  ground  back  from  the  road ; 
all  more  or  less  covered  with  bowlders  of  granite, 
many  of  great  size.  Lakes  and  lakelets  abound. 
My  daughter  remarked  that  in  Yellowstone  Park 
there  was  a  fearful  waste  of  hot  water,  in  Alaska 
of  ice,  and  here  of  gray  granite.  The  country 
back  of  Port  Arthur  is  said  to  be  rich  in  mines. 
I  can  believe  it.  Nothing  is  made  in  vain,  and 
this  county  is  evidently  fit  for  nothing  else  ex- 
cept mines.  The  public  rooms  of  the  hotels 
seem  to  be  frequented  by  only  two  classes  of 
men — miners  and  fishers.  Here  a  knot  talked 
of  minerals  and  claims,  there  of  three  or  four  and 
six  pounders.  The  Nipigon,  near  by,  is  said  to 
be  the  finest  of  trout  streams.  Mr.  Higin- 
botham,  of  Chicago,  and  sons  left  the  day  before 


192  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

our  arrival  after  having  made  fine  catches.  The 
people  seemed  much  amused  at  their  anxiety  to 
save  a  pailful.  They  chartered  a  steamer  to 
take  them  and  their  fry,  quickly  to  Duluth. 

PORT  ARTHUR  AND  LAKE  SUPERIOR. 

Port  Arthur  has  a  beautiful  site  on  a  gentle 
slope,  with  an  elevated  bench  behind  for  resi- 
dences. If  it  were  in  the  States  it  would  be 
boomed.  It  is  Canada's  only  port  on  Lake 
Superior,  and  in  Thunder  Bay  has  a  grand 
harbor.  The  weather  is  so  cool,  throughout  the 
summer,  that  evening  fires  are  rarely  dispensed 
with.  This  should  be  considered  a  terminus  for 
the  C.  P.  R.  R.,  at  least  for  all  heavy  freights 
and  grain.  The  road  has  now  two  or  three 
1,200,000  bushel  capacity  elevators,  and  I  am 
informed  intends  immediately  to  build  several 
more.  These  will  enable  it  to  move  the  grain 
from  Manitoba,  and  hold  it  during  the  winter 
and  until  the  opening  of  navigation. 

We  had  intended  continuing  by  rail  to  Sud- 
bury,  north  of  Lake  Huron,  but  finding  that  we 
should  pass  all  the  interesting  country  by  night 
we  halted  a  day  and  then  boarded  the  Alberta, 
the  Canadian  Pacific  railroad  steamer,  a  Clyde- 
built  vessel  of  some  2,000  tonnage,  with  clean 
and  comfortable  rooms,  polite  officers  and  ser- 
vants, and  in  every  way  first-class.  The  break 


RAILROAD   COURTESIES.  193 

on  the  great  run  from  ocean  to  ocean  on  this 
longest  of  the  world's  trunk  lines,  by  taking 
steamer  between  Owen  Sound  on  Georgian  Bay 
and  Port  Arthur,  is  a  most  agreeable  one. 

It  is  charming  to  sail  on  a  good  ship  on  this 
the  mightiest  of  fresh-water  seas,  and  to  lose 
sight  of  land  while  skimming  over  its  dark 
green  depths.  We  have  had  a  smooth  sea  and 
delicious  bracing  air,  and  find  nothing  to  com- 
plain of  and  much  to  commend.  Before  closing 
I  wish  to  say  something  of  the  remarkable  civil- 
ity of  the  officers  and  employes  of  this  great 
road.  The  managers  evidently  know  the  value 
of  politeness  on  the  part  of  those  who  cater  to 
the  traveling  community,  the  hardest  and  most 
difficult  to  satisfy  of  all  others.  Four  out  of  five 
of  them  pack  their  trunks  for  a  trip  and  expect 
to  find  the  comforts  of  their  home  while  on  the 
go,  and  find  fault  at  every  turn.  This  Van 
Home  seems  to  know,  and  has  so  drilled  his 
people,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest,  that  cour- 
tesy, the  cheapest  of  valuable  commodities,  is 
never  lacking. 

I  am  finishing  this  letter  while  our  ship  lies 
in  the  great  lock  at  the  uSoo."  We  are  again 
under  the  protection  of  the  Stars  and  Stripes. 
The  rush  of  waters  of  the  great  "Sault"  fills  the 
air  with  its  roar.  This  was  a  few  moments  since 
deadened  by  the  greater  turmoil  from  some 


194  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

twenty  dynamite  blasts  in  the  hard  rock  through 
which  Uncle  Sam  is  cutting  for  the  huge  lock, 
which  is  to  aid  the  present  one  in  passing  to  and 
fro  the  mighty  traffic  of  our  great  system  of 
fresh-water  seas.  The  present  lock  is  wholly 
inadequate,  and  steamers  often  wait  for  five  hours 
for  their  turn,  and  that,  too.  although  it  admits 
several  vessels  at  a  time.  Over  beyond  the  cas- 
cade the  Dominion  is  erecting  a  vast  system  of 
locks  on  its  own  ground.  The  near  future  will 
need  them  all. 

A   PLEA   FOR   RECIPROCITY. 

We  look  across  the  foamy  river  and  see  a 
beautiful  little  town,  the  "Canadian  Soo."  Be- 
hind it  lifts  a  gently  rising  land,  all  clothed  in 
sweet  verdure  and  making  an  exquisite  picture. 
There,  for  thousands  of  miles  east  and  west 
and  extending  several  hundreds  of  miles  to  the 
north,  are  a  people  in  every  way  our  kinsmen. 
We  wander  among  them  and  feel  that  we  are 
among  friends  of  our  own  clan,  and  yet  I  cannot 
take  my  satchel  ashore  without  submitting  it  to 
the  inspection  of  our  custom-house  officers.  How 
long  will  this  thing  last?  Why  should  two 
people  so  closely  united  by  every  bond  except 
that  of  so-called  nationality,  submit  to  this  ham- 
pering of  their  kindly  relations?  When  will 
the  bars  be  thrown  down  so  that  the  Canuck  and 


AT  THE   "  SOO."  195 

the  Yankee  can  trade  as  brothers  and  friends?  I 
may  not  be  a  statesman,  but  what  little  of  state- 
craft I  possess,  tells  me  there  should  be  absolute 
reciprocity  between  Americans  from  the  Gulf  of 
Mexico  to  the  frozen  seas ;  reciprocity  at  least 
for  all  productions  of  the  respective  countries. 

I  look  out  of  my  window  ;  the  ship  is  sinking 
down  between  the  massive  walls  of  the  lock.  In 
a  few  moments  we  will  be  on  a  level  with  Lake 
Huron,  and  just  below  the  lock  we  will  land  in 
Michigan.  So  now  we  bid  adieu  to  the  hospitali- 
ties of  President  Van  Home,  and  will  commend 
his  iron  highway  to  all  who  love  nature  and  its 
grand  works,  and  who  delight  in  its  sublimest 
displays. 


CHAPTER  IX. 

THE  ST.  MARY'S  RIVER.  CHARMING  SCENERY. 
THE  LOCALITY  FOR  SUMMER  HOMES.  AN 
EPISODE.  MACKINAW.  GRAND  RAPIDS,  A 

BEAUTIFUL   CITY. 

At  Sault  Ste.  Marie,  we  took  steamer  for 
Mackinaw.  The  steamer  was  comfortable,  and 
the  trip  a  charming  one. 

The  run  down  the  Ste.  Marie  into  Lake 
Huron,  has  few  equals  in  sweet,  gentle,  and  at 
times  picturesque  scenery.  Low  lying  hills  lie 
on  both  banks  of  the  river,  some  of  them  lifting 
from  the  water.  Now  and  then,  a  promentory  or 
an  island  point  lifts  the  general  quiet  tone  into 
something  of  boldness.  These  are  washed  and 
laved  by  waters  of  pallucid  purity.  The  hills, 
both  however,  generally  lie  back  from  the  river  on 
banks  with  pretty  plains  under  them ;  here,  wide 
enough  for  a  small  field,  or  garden  ;  there,  giving 
space  for  a  pretty  farm.  The  uplands  rise  from 
the  small  bottoms  in  easy  flowing  slopes,  green 
in  fresh  growth.  There  are  on  both  slopes  oc- 
casional farms  and  small  hamlets,  affording  life 
and  movement  to  the  pretty  picture. 

When  this  continent  shall  become  a  single 
nation — one  grand  Republic ;  the  frozen  arms  of 
an  Arctic  ice-floe  enfolding  its  northern  boun- 
dary ;  the  warm  breath  of  the  Gulf  of  Mexico 

196 


GEORGIAN   BAY.  197 

reddening  the  cheek  of  the  orange  and  covering 
Magnolia  groves  with  snowy  bloom  along  its 
southern  shores ;  the  mighty  Pacific  pouring  its 
sonorous  swell  on  its  western  confines  from  Beh- 
ring's  sea  to  the  Tropic  of  Cancer,  and  the  storm 
breeding  Atlantic  roaring  along  its  shores,  from 
Lincoln  Sea  to  Key  West ;  when  brothers  shall 
clasp  hands  across  the  deep  waters  of  the  lakes 
without  the  espionage  of  a  custom  collector, 
then  these  low-lying  hills  and  sweet  plains  at 
their  feet —  these  pretty  islands  and  rugged  pro- 
mentories,  will  become  the  summer  homes  of  the 
rich  of  the  mighty  land,  and  the  green  waters 
will  reflect  the  villas  and  cottages  of  the  wealthy 
and  the  well  to  do,  along  the  entire  river ;  and 
the  world  will  know  no  more  beautiful  and 
sweetly  rural  locality. 

I  was  leaning  on  the  taffrail  of  our  boat,  enjoy- 
ing the  sweet  prospect — the  long  reach  of 
Georgian  Bay,  lying  to  the  east — and  some  bold 
points  lifting  about  us,  when  I  heard  a  gentle- 
man call  the  attention  of  a  lad  by  his  side,  to  a 
rock  they  could  see  in  the  distance  through  their 
glasses.* 

uAt  the  foot  of  that  rock,  I  caught  twenty 
black  bass  in  an  hour,"  said  the  gentleman. 

A  deep  groan  close  by  my  side  caught  my  ear. 
I  turned  to  find  a  gray  headed  old  man,  also 

*The  reader  may  take  all  reference  to  this  gentleman  as  fact  or 
fiction,  as  his  own  fancy  suggests. 


198  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

leaning  on  the  rail,  whose  glass  was  turned  in 
the  same  direction  as  those  of  the  gentleman  and 
lad.  The  man  of  the  groan,  was  evidently 
seventy  odd  years  old,  with  a  gentle  face,  but 
now  in  deep  and  painful  thought ;  tears  were 
coursing  down  his  cheeks,  and  when  he  lowered 
his  glasses,  showed  eyes  red  with  weeping.  His 
face  looked  so  wan  that  I  feared  he  was  sick.  I 
spoke  to  him  gently. 

He  answered  me  kindly,  and  then  said:  I  was 
watching  through  my  glass  a  spot  in  the  dis- 
tance beyond  the  rock  adverted  to  by  the  gentle- 
man to  that  boy,  and  when  he  spoke  of  catching 
fish  at  its  base,  a  long  ago  past  was  weighing  on 
my  mind.  His  words  brought  up  the  groan  you 
heard  and  not  any  illness  of  my  own — a  past 
connected  with  a  big  rock  near  the  spot  I  was 
looking  at,  and  of  a  tragedy  which  deeply  dis- 
tressed me,  and  changed  the  course  of  my 
life." 

I  very  naturally  asked:  "Are  the  matters  you 
refer  to,  such  that  you  cannot  speak  of  them  ?'' 
I  handed  him,  at  the  same  time,  my  card.  He 
looked  up  saying  "Ah,  yes!  I  know  of  you.  A 
few  days  since  I  read  some  letters  of  yours  in 
the  Chicago  Tribune,  from  the  National  Park. 
They  made  me  half  resolve  to  go  there  next 
year."  He  asked  me  if  I  intended  publishing 
them  in  book  form ;  that  he  thought  such  a 


MACKINAW.  199 

book,  just  now,  would  be  acceptable;  that  he 
had  preserved  my  letters  for  use,  should  he 
make  the  excursion.  A  man  who  has  published 
any  thing,  is  as  easily  captured  by  a  kindly 
word  for  his  bantling,  as  ever  mother  was  by 
praise  for  her  first  baby.  I  told  him  that  my 
letters,  even  if  enlarged  as  I  might  see  fit,  would 
hardly  make  a  book  of  fit  size  for  publication. 

The  elderly  gentlemen  landed  at  Mackinaw 
with  us.  After  wandering  over  this  pretty  old 
island,  visiting  its  places  of  interest  which  well 
repay  a  visit — after  listening  to  a  few  dozen  promi- 
nent lawyers,  judges,  merchants  and  physicians 
talking  through  their  noses — all  of  them  victims 
of  hay-fever — I  was  lazily  resting  on  the  hotel 
piazza,  awaiting  the  hour  for  taking  the  ferry  boat 
to  reach  the  train  for  home,  when  my  new  made 
friend  of  the  boat  came  to  me  and  said :  "  Mr. 
Harrison,  you  say  your  letters  are  not  enough  to 
make  a  book  of  publishing  size.  I  spoke  to  you 
of  a  tragedy,  which  changed  the  course  of  my 
life.  I  have  at  home,  but  will  send  it  to  you,  a 
manuscript,  touching  that  sad  affair,  which  would 
not  be  inappropriate  in  a  letter  touching  a  trip 
from  the  Soo  to  Chicago.  The  manuscript  is  a 
plain  and  faithful  story  of  the  events  narrated ; 
you  can,  however,  supply  fictitious  names,  and 
alter  certain  immaterial  points  and  touch  up  the 
whole.  I  thanked  him,  and  assured  him  I  would 


200  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

probably  gladly  use  his  material.  He  afterward 
sent  to  me  "  The  Secret  of  the  Big  Rock,"  which 
will  be  found  following  this  letter. 

A  night's  run  brought  us  to  Grand  Rapids. 
Its  people  ought  to  be  proud  of  it.  It  is  not  only 
a  thriving,  busy  tow7n,  growing  with  great  rapid- 
ity, but  is  one  of  the  prettiest  cities  in  America. 
Its  business  quarters  are  fine  and  wear  a  metro- 
politan air,  but  its  residence  portion  is  very 
pretty.  The  streets  are  lined  with  trees,  which 
grow  with  such  luxuriance  park  commissioners 
might  envy. 

We  spent  a  half  day  in  the  charming  place 
and  in  a  few  hours  reached  home,  having  enjoyed 
a  glorious  "  outing,"  which  I  freely  recommend 
every  one  who  can,  to  make,  and  as  early  as  pos- 
sible. If  I  had  to  choose  between  a  trip  to 
Europe  of  two  or  three  months,  and  the  excur- 
sion we  have  just  made,  and  were  compelled  to 
forego  one  or  the  other,  I  would  forego  the  Euro- 
pean one. 


PART   II. 

THE  OLD  MAN'S  STORY. 


CHAPTER  I. 

THE  SECRET   OF    THE   BIG   ROCK. 

In  the  spring  of  185-  I  was  head  bookkeeper 
and  confidential  clerk  of  a  Cincinnati  firm,  hav- 
ing a  large  trade  with  the  Cotton  States.  I  had 
an  adored  wife,  and  two  fine  children,  who  were 
our  pride  and  our  delight.  Not  ambitious  for 
wealth,  I  was  perfectly  satisfied  if  my  endeavors 
conduced  to  the  prosperity  of  my  employers.  My 
salary  was  sufficient  for  our  wants.  None  of  us 
had  ever  been  sick  and  the  family  physician  was 
rather  a  friend  than  an  adviser.  The  firm  was 
prosperous ;  my  employers,  always  kind  and 
considerate ;  my  modest  home  was  cheerful,  and 
I  believed  myself  the  happiest  of  men. 

Cholera  was  that  year  prevalent,  and  toward 
the  first  of  June,  threatened  to  become  epidemic 
in  our  city.  My  employers  hurried  with  their 
families  to  the  country,  leaving  me  in  full 
charge  of  the  house.  Continuous  immunity 
from  sickness,  made  my  wife  and  myself  so  con- 
fident, that  had  we  been  able  to  strike  the  sign 
of  the  passover  on  our  door  posts,  we  would 
scarcely  have  thought  the  precaution  necessary. 
Even  the  dread  scourge,  cholera,  had  few  terrors 
for  us. 

203 


204  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Going  home  one  Saturday  afternoon,  I  read 
on  the  Bulletin  Board  of  a  newspaper  office,  that 
the  physicians  believed  Cincinnati  had  passed 
the  crisis ;  that  no  epidemic  need  be  feared. 
I  had  a  habit,  when  walking  alone,  of  whist- 
ling softly.  Near  my  house  a  neighbor  smiled, 
as  he  said,  "he  was  glad  to  see  my  mouth  in  so 
fine  a  pucker,  for  it  spoke  well  of  the  day. 
My  wife  met  me  at  the  door,  as  usual,  but  told 
me  she  felt  quite  sick ;  seeing  my  face  become 
clouded,  she  assured  me  it  was  not  much,  and 
laughingly  repeated  a  witty  speech  of  our  little 
girl.  Hardly  had  she  finished,  when  she  almost 
screamed  with  pain.  In  twenty-four  hours,  she 
was  a  corpse;  and  Monday,  at  noon,  I  was  wife- 
less and  childless. 

I  did  not  pray  to  die,  believing  that  God  knew 
and  did  what  was  best  for  his  children ;  but  I 
would  have  greeted  with  a  smile  the  grim  mon- 
ster, had  he  reached  out  his  hand  for  me. 

In  two  days  I  was  at  my  desk,  for  there  were 
important  matters  to  be  attended  to.  The  neces- 
sity for  work,  kept  me  from  falling  by  the  way- 
side. My  mother  had  taught  me,  "that  man's 
highest  duty  is,  to  do  his  duty."  This  saying 
had  been  adopted  as  my  motto. 

The  next  week,  my  employers  returned  to 
town,  and  ordered  me  to  Fort  Mackinaw  for  a 
couple  of  months'  vacation,  presenting  me 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  205 

with  a  thousand  dollar  check,  to  cover  my  expen- 
ses. Two  months  between  the  Island  and  the  Soo 
were  passed  in  fishing,  with  such  benefits  result- 
ing, that  the  excursion  has  been  renewed  when- 
ever an  absolute  necessity  for  a  change  has  been 
felt. 

My  employers  on  my  return,  seeing  the  good 
effects  upon  me,  of  the  water  and  the  rod,  pre- 
sented me  with  a  nice  skiff,  telling  me  to  take 
every  Thursday  afternoon  for  a  holiday,  and  to 
keep  them  supplied  with  fish  for  Friday ;  at  the 
same  time,  kindly  informing  me,  that  a  plate 
would  always  be  at  one  or  the  other  of  their  tables 
for  me  to  help  enjoy  my  catch. 

Being  a  man  of  almost  machine  like  habits  of 
regularity,  my  boat  was  always  seen  on  the 
proper  afternoon,  rain  or  shine,  during  the  fish- 
ing seasons  for  several  years. 

It  was  in  '58  that  I  accidentally  threw  my  line 
in  a  deep  pool  or  hole,  in  the  Licking  river,  a 
mile  or  two  from  the  Ohio,  and  almost  immedi- 
ately struck  a  fine  gaspergou  perch,  or  as  the 
people  in  Kentucky  called  it,  a  "New  Light." 
This  fish  was  first  seen  in  the  state,  when  the 
forerunners  of  the  present  Cambellite,  or  Chris- 
tian church,  the  "New  Lights,"  were  creating 
much  enthusiasm  in  the  Kentucky  religious 
world. 


2o6  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

The  catch  was  followed  by  several  others, 
when  a  terrible  splashing  was  made  close  to  my 
hook  by  an  out-rigger  rowed  by  a  stalwart 
negro.  The  Ethiopian  scowled  npon  me  as  he 
shot  by.  In  a  few  moments  he  returned  and 
caught  a  crab,  letting  an  oar  back  water  about 
the  same  place  on  his  run  down  stream.  The 
disturbance  drove  all  the  fish  from  the  locality ; 
at  least  I  had  no  more  bites. 

The  two  following  Thursdays,  I  tried  the 
same  pool,  but  my  darkey  was  again  rowing 
about  the  ground,  and  no  fish  were  to  be  had. 

About  a  month  later,  there  was  a  press  of 
business  at  the  store.  At  the  request  of  our 
senior  to  forego  my  usual  holiday,  I  worked  all 
Thursday  afternoon,  with  the  understanding  I 
was  to  take  the  next  day  and  bring  in  my  fish 
for  Friday's  supper.  I  started  early  and  rowed 
some  distance  up  the  Licking,  to  what  were  con- 
sidered good  fishing  grounds.  In  passing  the 
spot  where  my  sport  had  been  twice  disturbed, 
I  saw  the  outrigger  handled  by  the  sable  oars- 
man, while  a  handsome  young  man  in  the  stern 
drew  up  a  fine  black  bass.  The  negro  again 
scowled  at  me. 

I  reached  my  ground,  and  was  having  but  in- 
different success,  when  almost  without  a  ripple 
the  outrigger  drew  up  close  to  my  side. 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY. 

"What  luck?"  demanded  the  gentleman,  in  a 
clear,  sweetly  modulated  voice,  which  made  me 
for  a  minute  forget  the  colored  man's  evident  ill 
will. 

"Rather  poor  ;  nothing  to  what  I  was  enjoy- 
ing four  weeks  ago,  before  your  boat  drove  all 
the  fish  away  from  the  hole  where  I  saw  you  an 
hour  ago.  I  have  a  notion  your  man  had  a 
method  in  his  madness." 

The  gentleman  laughed  a  laugh  so  breezy 
and  cheery,  that  it  drew  me  at  once  to  him. 

"Yes,  Jim  told  me  of  his  exploit,  and  we  have 
come  up  to  invite  you  back  to  u  our  hole  "  as  he 
calls  it." 

I  could  not  refuse  an  offer  so  cordially  extended. 

The  gentleman  as  we  gently  floated  down  the 
stream  informed  me,  that  Jim  had  selected  u  our 
hole"  as  one  little  likely  to  attract  Cincinnati 
Waltons,  and  regularly  every  Friday  left  in  it  a 
fine  feed  for  fish  ;  that  Jim  was  almost  amphibi- 
ous and  seemed  to  know  how  to  draw  the  finny 
denizens  of  the  river  to  whatever  spot  he  selected 
and  at  fixed  times ;  that  he  was  surprised  to 
learn  I  had  found  fish  in  the  place  on  Thursday, 
when  there  should  have  been  none  until  Friday  ; 
that  the  sable  conjuror  was  not  so  much  put  out, 
because  I  had  found  the  spot,  as  because  the  fish 
had  lost  their  reckoning  and  were  a  day  ahead 
of  time. 


2o8  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

"  I  am  supposed  to  be  Jim's  boss,"  he  smilingly 
went  on,  "-  but  in  fact,  on  the  water,  am  governed 
by  Jim  ;  his  rod  is  one  of  iron." 

At  "  our  hole  "  we  lay  too,  and  in  an  hour  had 
a  fine  mess  of  bass  and  new  lights — as  many  as 
we  needed. 

Felden,  was  the  name  my  new  acquaintance 
gave  me  as  his — "Jack  Felden  "  he  said,  u  and 
this  coon  is  Jim  Madison." 

Jim  grinned'  and  was  the  very  personification 
of  the  free  and  easy,  yet  servile  southern  "  body 
servant." 

Mr.  Felden  said,  u  I  make  it  a  rule,  Mr.  Jami- 
son, never  to  kill  a  single  fish  I  can  not  consume 
either  myself  or  through  a  few  friends,  to  whom 
I  now  and  then  send  a  mess.  The  poor  things 
have  a  right  to  their  pursuit  of  life,  health  and 
happiness,  and  should  not  be  killed  in  wanton 
love  of  killing,  As  one  of  the  dominant  animals 
of  this  earth,  I  claim  the  right  to  take  fish  for 
my  uses.  I  enjoy  the  sport  of  angling  ;  but 
when  enough  are  caught  the  sport  ends,  and  I 
reel  in  my  line,  and  silently  steal  away." 

'  You  are  a  sportsman  of  my  own  kidney,"  I 
rejoined  "  we  have  enough." 

Jim  then  emptied  a  pail  of  fish  feed  into  the 
river,  saying  : 

"  Dey'll  guzzle  all  dat  afore  dark,  and  termor- 
rer  dey'll  come  here  and  find  nuthin',  and  dey'll 


.     THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  209 

go  away,  but  shuali  as  death  and  'ligeon  dey'll  be 
back  here  nex'  Friday.  Dis  niggah  skeert  em 
de  las'  fo'  weeks,  a  Thursdays." 

Jim  grinned  in  my  face  as  he  said  this,  and  I 
was  forced  to  commend  his  prudence,  though  it 
had  been  at  my  cost. 

The  following  Thursday,  I  tried  the  hole,  but 
Jiin  was  right  ;  no  fish  took  my  bait ;  he  was 
seen,  however,  scudding  along  in  Feldeu's  out- 
rigger. He  grinned  at  me  and  asked,  "  how  is 
de  hole?" 

The  following  week,  to  my  gratification,  I 
found  Mr.  Felden  on  the  river.  We  fished  at 
"  our  hole  "  with  some  success  :  Jim  then  fed  the 
fish,  while  his  master  informed  me  that  he  had 
concluded  to  go  shares  with  me.  Hereafter,  he 
would  meet  me  on  Thursday,  so  as  to  enable  me 
to  gratify  the  Catholic  appetites  of  my  employ- 
ers. Thus  he  would  have  the  pleasure  of  bet- 
tering our  acquaintance.  He  paid  me  the  com- 
pliment of  saying  that  he  had  circled  the  globe, 
associating  with  men  in  all  lands,  and  felt  we 
ought  to  be  friends. 

Our  friendship  grew  into  intimacy,  before  the 
season  was  over.  He  invited  me  to  his  den.  It 
was  a  plain  cottage,  externally ;  but  within 
sumptuous  ;  skins  of  lions,  tigers,  leopards  of 
every  variety  of  spots,  and  of  other  animals 
covering  the  floors  of  hard  wood  at  that  time 


210  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

rarely  seen.  Several  of  trie  pelts,  lie  said,  were 
the  trophies  of  his  own  skill  with  the  rifle.  The 
walls  were  tapestried  with  rare  draperies,  and 
rugs,  all  of  them  valuable  souvenirs  of  Eastern 
lands.  One  room  was  given  up  to  cabinets,  in 
which  curios  and  objects  de  vertu  sparkled  in  ori- 
ental beauty.  All  was  arranged  with  rare  taste. 
I  hinted  to  my  host,  that  his  house  was  a  temp- 
tation to  the  burglar.  He  went  to  the  door  and 
whistled  gently.  In  rushed  two  fine  dogs  ;  no- 
ble specimens  of  monster  mastiffs. 

"  These  are  my  guardians.  Woe  to  the  thief 
that  gets  into  this  house  ;  if  he  escapes  Jim  and 
me,  these  fellows  would  tear  him  into  fish  bait. 
Wouldn't  you  my  Mogul?"  One  of  the  huge 
mastiffs  sprang  up  with  a  growl  that  startled  me. 

"Now  Akbar !  3^ou  and  Queen  salute  this 
gentleman.  He  is  my  friend  and  must  be  yours." 

The  two  dogs  came  up  to  me,  smelt  all  about 
me,  then  one  of  them  laid  a  great  paw  in  my 
lap,  while  the  other  put  both  feet  on  my  should- 
ers, yawning  mightly  in  my  face  .showed  fangs 
long  enough  and  strong  enough  to  give  the 
king  of  the  forest  no  mean  battle. 

I  spent  a  charming  evening  with  my  new 
friend,  and  found  him  one  I  could  gladly  call 
such. 

During  the  following  winter,  I  dined  with 
Jack — I  had  accepted  his  request  to  address  him 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  211 

thus  familiarly — at  least  one  day  in  each  week. 
His  dinners  were  at  the  then  unusual  hour  of 
seven,  a  habit  acquired  as  he  informed  me  in 
India.  Jim  was  butler,  and  Dinah,  his  wife  was 
cook.  She  was  an  artist  of  a  kind  to  be  found 
nowhere  in  the  world,  outside  of  old  southern 
plantation  halls.  The  table  service  was  of  pure 
china  and  cut  glass.  The  menu  was  never  ex- 
tensive, thereby  not  conducing  to  over-indul- 
gence, but  everything  was  perfect  of  its  kind,  and 
cooked  absolutely  to  a  "  T  ".  A  single  bottle  of 
wine  was  always  served  for  us  two,  either  of 
Rhine  or  one  of  the  best  clarets.  My  host  and 
I  never  emptied  more  than  two  glasses  each. 
At  the  end  of  each  meal,  Dinah  andjini  came  in 
as  the  table  was  being  cleared  off,  and  drank  to 
our  healths  in  glasses  of  the  same  set,  and  from 
the  same  wine  used  by  the  master. 

Mr.  Felden  never  smoked  cigars  at  table,  but 
we  each  had  a  jasmine  Turkish  pipe  and 
puffed  delicious  Ladikiyah,  received  by  him 
from  Beyrout  in  hermetically  sealed  cans. 

One  evening  when  we  were  lolling  back  on 
softest  chairs  and  enjoying  to  our  full  the  frag- 
rant weed,  Jack  said  to  me,  (i  Paul,"  (this  was 
the  irust  and  almost  the  only  time,  he  thus 
called  me,  "  you  have  told  me  the  sad,  sweet 
story  of  your  life.  I  propose,  if  you  wish,  to 
give  you  mine." 


A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

"  I  am  very  glad  of  it,  and  have  been  hoping 
you  would." 

For  some  minutes  he  was  silent,  and  his  noble 
face  was  lighted  with  what  seemed  an  illumina- 
tion from  within,  wholly  different  from  that  laid 
upon  it  by  the  mellow  glow  from  the  candelabra. 

"  I  am  thirty  years  old  ;  have  light  auburn 
and  very  curly  hair."  I  started,  for  his  hair 
and  beard  were  dark  brown,  almost  black,  and 
without  even  a  wave.  Without  noticing  my 
surprise,  he  continued,  "  My  complexion  is  florid 
and  my  face  without  a  scar." 

"  My  goodness,  Jack,  you  are  making  sport  of 
me,"  I  cried,  for  the  man  before  me  had  a  com- 
plexion of  richest  olive,  and  a  terrible  scar  had 
been  cut  across  his  cheek,  as  he  once  laughingly 
intimated,  by  a  tiger's  claw. 

"  No,  I  am  telling  you  simple  facts.  I  am  the 

son  of  a  rich  planter  in ,"  he  did  not 

name  the  state ;  u  my  father  and  my  uncle 
owned  adjoining  estates  of  great  value,  and  were 
as  proud  as  they  were  rich.  I  was  an  only  child. 
My  uncle  had  but  one,  and  that  a  daughter.  Our 
parents  inherited  their  fortunes  from  my  grand- 
father, and  at  an  early  date  they  determined  to 
unite  the  family  wealth  again  by  a  marriage  be- 
tween my  cousin  Belle  and  myself.  She  was  a 
pure  blonde,  one  year  my  senior,  very  stately, 
very  cold,  and  intensely  proud.  We  grew  up 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  213 

to  consider  ourselves  as  indissolubly  betrothed. 
Belle  treated  it  as  calmly  as  if  we  had  been  mar- 
ried for  years.  This  she  did  as  soon  as  she  was 
out  of  the  school  room.  She  never  seemed  to 
doubt  the  propriety  of  our  engagement.  She 
loved  ' Clifton'  and  i  Brandon' — I  will  thus  call 
the  two  plantations — she  loved  the  two  estates 
next  to  her  father.  Him  she  worshipped.  These 
two  loves  filled  her  soul,  and  left  no  room  for 
any  other  genuine  affection.  Yes ;  she  loved 
herself,  our  name,  our  lineage,  and  her  pride." 

For  awhile  he  was  silent,  and  his  soul  seemed 
to  be  working  in  his  face ;  then,  with  a  sigh  of 
pain,  he  continued  : 

"  I  graduated  from  one  of  the  best  colleges  in 
the  land  at  twenty,  and  at  once  with  a  learned 
tutor,  was  sent  abroad.  We  traveled  in  conti- 
nental Europe  for  a  few  months  and  I  was  in- 
tensely happy.  Before  the  first  year  had  half 
ran  out,  we  were  summoned  home.  My  father 
was  ill,  and  would  probably  not  live  to  see  me. 
This  was  my  first  great  pain,  for  my  mother  had 
died  at  my  birth.  We  hurried  to  New  York  by 
the  first  steamer,  then  by  rail  and  coach  we  flew 
southward  without  having  heard  a  word  from 
home.  We  were  too  late  ;  my  poor  father  had 
been  dead  nearly  a  fortnight.  I  had  loved  him 
with  intense  devotion. 


A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

My  uncle  having  died  three  years  before,  Belle 
had  been  living  since  then  with  my  father  at  Clif- 
ton. She  met  me  at  the  door,  enveloped  in  black, 
and  looking  the  very  embodiment  of  decorous  grief. 
She  kissed  me  on  the  forehead,  and  when  within 
told  me  in  a  voice  as  calm  as  ice  of  my  poor  father's 
last  illness,  of  his  death,  and  of  the  immensely  at- 
tended funeral.  She  opened  her  writing  desk, 
read  letter  after  letter  of  condolence,  and  with  a 
fitting  sigh  spoke  of  the  gratification  we  should 
feel,  '  that  dear  uncle  had  so  many  admirers 
among  the  best  people  of  the  south.'  Her  well- 
poised  calmness  nearly  stifled  me.  Yearning  for 
love  and  sympathy,  all  I  received  from  the  only 
relative  I  had  on  earth,  at  least  of  near  degree, 
were  congratulations  that  my  father  had  found 
in  death  the  cold  esteem  of  friends. 

"  As  soon  as  I  could  decently  leave  the  house, 
I  hurried  to  the  negro  quarters  to  see  my  foster 
mother,  Dinah,  and  her  husband,  Jim.  There  I 
found  loving  hearts,  and  for  many  minutes  was 
clasped  in  the  arms  of  her  who  had  nursed  me 
on  her  bosom  through  my  babyhood.  I  lay 
upon  a  settee,  given  Dinah  by  myself  as  a 
Christmas  present  years  before,  and  with  my 
head  on  the  old  negress'  lap,  let  her  comb  the 
hair  over  my  aching  brow.  Soothed  and  rested 
by  the  kind,  homely  sympathy,  I  lay  with  closed 
eyes,  when  the  cabin  became  redolent  of  that  pe- 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  215 

culiar  odor  given  out  by  genuine  crepe,  and 
Belle  walked  in.  In  calm,  cold  words  she  said 
she  was  sorry  John  could  not  find  some  one  at 
the  house  to  brush  his  head. 

"  The  next  day  my  cousin  handed  me  a  letter, 
i  the  last/  she  said  4  Uncle  had  ever  written.'  It 
told  me  where  I  would  find  his  will ;  that  every- 
thing he  possessed  was  left  to  me,  and  asked,  as 
a  dying  request,  that  I  should  marry  my  cousin 
the  day  I  became  twenty-one.  He  told  me  how 
all  the  love  he  had  borne  my  mother  had  been 
centered  upon  me;  gave  me  a  few  words  of  ad- 
vice, but  said  he  felt  advice  unnecessary,  as  he 
knew  how  good  his  only  son  was. 

"  When  I  had  finished  reading  I  handed  the 
letter  to  Belle,  saying  there  was  something  in  it 
concerning  her.  I  watched  her  through  my  fingers 
and  saw  that  her  reading  was  simply  perfunc- 
tory ;  she  had  evidently  read  it  before.  She 
sighed,  came  to  my  seat,  put  her  arms  about  my 
neck — called  me  her  dear  John,  and  kissed  me 
on  the  lips.  I  felt  like  one  fettered  and  power- 
less. My  heart  was  filled  with  a  sort  of  numb- 
ness— despair.  Two  facts  were  as  clear  to  me 
as  daylight:  that  I  did  not  love  my  cousin,  that 
she  did  not  love  me  ;  she  was  incapable  of  real 
passion.  I  turned  to  her  and  said : 

" '  Belle  you  have  read  my  father's  letter, 
what  do  you  suggest  ?  ' 


2i6  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

"  '  Why,  of  course,  John,  we  will  be  married 
on  the  20th  day  of  February.  We  have  a  month 
to  get  ready,  besides  we  need  not  much  prepara- 
tion, for  we  will  at  once  go  to  Europe  for  a  year, 
until  the  sad  events  of  the  past  few  weeks  shall 
have  been  obliterated  from  our  minds.' 

"Good  God!  she  could  speculate  on  the  death 
of  grief.  I  hated  her.  But  I  would  as  soon 
have  thought  of  exhuming  my  father's  body  and 
scattering  it  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  as  to 
think  of  not  obeying  his  wishes. 

u  Well,  we  were  married,  and  at  once  went 
abroad.  I  tried  to  and  did  respect  my  wife.  She 
attracted  great  attention,  for  she  was  superbly 
beautiful — queenly.  But  there  was  never  a  mo- 
ment when  I  felt  like  pressing  her  stately  form 
to  my  breast;  never  had  the  slightest  inclination 
to  kiss  her  lips  ;  never  once  felt  I  could  look 
into  her  great  blue  eyes,  and  breathe  out  my 
life  on  her  bosom. 

"  A  marble  statue  would  as  quickly  have 
aroused  a  feeling  of  passion  in  my  heart.  She 
was  cold  and  did  not  seem  to  realize  that  I  was 
not  a  model  husband,  for  I  was  her  attentive 
and  watchful  companion.  She  seemed  thorough- 
ly satisfied,  while  my  heart  was  hardening  into 
stone. 

In  July  we  visited  a  flower  show  in  Regent's 
Park,  accompanied  by  two  English  ladies,  both 


THE  OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  21 7 

married,  romantic  and  full  of  sentiment.  In  our 
rounds,  we  met  a  lady  in  company  with  a  gentle- 
man and  a  little  boy.  She  was  about  eighteen 
years  old,  with  dark  melting  eyes  under  a  per- 
fectly arched  brow,  and  a  broad  low  forehead, 
over  which  her  black  hair  was  banded  in  massive 
silken  waves.  Her  complexion  was  so  deeply 
brunette  as  to  be  almost  olive.  The  blood  was 
rich  and  flowing  in  her  cheeks,  and  her  lips 
were  two  full  ripe  riven  cherries,  when  she  spoke 
parting  over  large  pearly  teeth.  Her  hand  was 
exquisitely  poised  on  shoulders  of  superb  mould, 
and  her  form  and  gait  queenly.  We  were  on 
the  opposite  side  of  a  wonderful  erica  admiring 
its  masses  of  pink  flowers.  Our  eyes  met.  I 
stood  as  if  spell  bound.  I  had  never  before  seen 
a  perfect  beauty  and  all  of  my  own  chosen  type. 
She  was  exactly  my  opposite,  I,  high  florid ;  she 
intensely  brunette. 

The  color  came  into  her  cheek  and  mounted 
to  her  very  hair  when  she  caught  my  fixed  gaze. 
One  of  our  English  friends  noticed  this.  After- 
wards in  our  walks,  we  met  again  and  again  the 
lady  in  the  brown  shawl — for  so  our  friends 
called  her.  Whenever  we  met,  my  eyes  in- 
stinctively sought  those  of  the  unknown,  and 
always  caught  her  glance  in  return,  and  at  every 
such  encounter  her  face  crimsoned.  This  was 
remarked  by  our  two  lady  friends  and  caused 


2i8  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

them  to  banter  me.  They  told  my  wife  to  be  on 
her  guard  ;  that  if  I  were  not  already  married, 
they  would  say  I  had  certainly  met  my  fate. 

"  Ah  !  little  did  they  dream  they  were  speak- 
ing truth — that  this  girl  was  my  fate  for  weal  or 
for  woe !  I  heard  the  unknown's  voice  several 
times  without  catching  her  words.  It  sank  into, 
my  very  soul.  I  became  absent  minded  through- 
out the  remainder  of  the  day.  Belle  joined  the 
ladies  in  declaring  that  the  "  brown  shawl  "  had 
bewitched  me. 

Mr.  Jamison,  I  have  a  very  decided  theory  of 
true  marriage.  The  Bible  is  a  mass  of  oriental 
rubbish  !  Forgive  me,  I  do  not  mean  to  offend. 
I  reverence  the  bible,  but  not  every  word  of  it. 
It  is  made  np  of  ingots  of  gold  covered  and  al- 
most1 hidden  within  masses  of  sand — grains  of 
truth  and  Godly  wisdom,  in  bulks  of  chaff.  It 
is  made  up  of  God's  wisdom  and  oriental  fable ? 
legend  and  poetry.  You  reverence  the  gold,  the 
grains — the  sands  and  the  chaff.  I  wash  out  the 
sand,  and  pick  out  the  gold  ;  winnow  away  the 
chaff,  and  gather  up  the  rich  grains. 

Nothing  to  me  in  the  book  of  Genesis,  reveals 
more  deep  knowledge  of  human  nature,  than  the 
account  of  the  creation  of  Adam  ;  he  was  made 
from  the  dust  of  the  ground,  and  his  soul  was 
breathed  into  him  by  the  breath  of  God.  When 
a  man  dies,  his  body  returns  to  the  dust,  his  soul 


THE  OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  219 

goes  back  to  its  maker.  God  created  man!  male 
and  female,  created  he  them  !  They  were  then 
good.  He  afterward  separated  the  female  from 
the  male.  Each  thus  became  imperfect — each 
became  a  part  and  not  a  whole.  There  is  a 
constant  yearning  in  them  for  reunion.  When 
the  true  Eve  unites  with  her  Adam,  they  become 
one,  and  their  union  is  bliss.  When  so  united, 
no  man  shall  put  them  asunder.  The  union  is 
founded  directly  on  natural  and,  not  on  moral  or 
religious  laws.  The  natural  laws  speak  within, 
and  draw  irresistibly  two  hearts  to  be  mated. 
Whoever  obeys  the  impulse  find  a  Heaven  on 
earth.  Others,  falsely-mated,  may  not  find  ab- 
solute misery,  but,  it  is  equally  certain,  true 
happiness  is  never  theirs.  Men  and  women  are 
made  for  each  other ;  not  one  man  for  one  cer- 
tain woman,  but  in  classes.  A  man  finds  his 
physicial  mate  in  one  of  a  certain  class.  If  her 
moral  qualities  be  not  fitted  by  education,  he 
should  wait  with  a  well  grounded  hope  of  find- 
ing another  in  the  same  class,  whose  bringing 
up  will  have  better  fitted  her  for  him. 

Now,  the  woman  in  the  brown  shawl  was  my 
mate,  that  is  one  of  the  proper  class.  I  could 
not  get  her  out  of  rny  mind,  and  my  wife's  cold- 
ness, constantly  made  me  yearn  for  her.  Travel 
was  distasteful  to  Belle,  so  that  before  the  fall 
had  set  in,  we  were  again  at  home.  I  did  not 


220  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

love  my  wife,  she  did  not  love  me.  She  was 
fully  satisfied  to  live  with  me  in  the  proud  dig- 
nity given  us  by  our  vast  estates. 

Besides  his  plantation,  negroes  and  stock,  my 
father  had  left  me  largely  over  a  hundred  thous- 
and dollars  in  money  and  convertible  bonds  and 
mortgages.  I  resolved  to  turn  all  of  these  into 
cash,  and  to  abandon  wife  and  country.  I  got  all 
in  readiness ;  executed  and  left  with  my  lawyers 
papers  conveying  every  thing  else  to  Belle ; 
went  to  New  York  on  some  pretended  business 
and  sailed  for  Europe,  writing  home  that  I 
would  never  return.  I  sought  the  American 
colonies  and  hotels  in  every  country,  in  a  sort  of 
vague  hope  that  I  could  find  the  woman  in  the 
brown  shawl.  She  was  my  fate.  I  was  mad  with 
the  one  idea.  I  was  no  libertine,  Mr.  Jamison. 
I  simply  yearned  for  her,  not  asking  what  the 
result  would  be  should  she  be  found.  I  drifted 
into  the  East  and  wandered  through  Russia, 
Turkey,  Greece,  Palestine  and  Egypt.  I  did 
not  meet  her ;  and  could  get  no  tidings  of  her. 


CHAPTER  II. 

I  resolved  to  lose  myself  in  the  far  East.  I 
went  to  India  ;  hunted  in  the  jungles,  reckless 
of  life  and  danger.  I  was  successful  in  overcom- 
ing the  monsters  of  the  wilds ;  and  escaped 
dreadful  fevers  because  I  seemed  to  bear  a 
charmed  life.  It  was  worthless  to  me,  and  a 
bad  penny  could  not  be  lost. 

In  India  I  met  with  a  cunning  native,  who 
changed  my  locks  from  light  to  their -present 
color,  curly  to  straight ;  my  complexion  from 
florid  to  its  olive  hue.  He  taught  me  how  to  put 
a  scar  on  my  cheek  that  would  deceive  the  eyes 
of  a  surgeon,  but  from  which  I  could  at  any  time 
free  myself  in  a  single  night,  diid  renew  at  will. 
So  perfectly  was  my  disguise,  that  my  Indian 
servant,  who  had  been  with  me  for  a  year,  failed 
to  recognize  me.  He  never  knew  me  again. 
With  my  skin  I  changed  my  name.  I  was  a 
stranger  even  when  in  my  most  frequented 
haunts,  and  as  you  see,  am  still  disguised.  I 
visited  Siam,  Burmah,  China  and  Borneo.  I 
wandered  five  years  in  the  far  East,  and  returned 
to  America  by  the  Pacific  and  Panama,  and  thence 
to  New  Orleans. 

In  that  city,  I  went  to  a  Mardi-Gras  ball.  On 
entering  the  brilliant  assembly  room,  I  was  al- 

221 


222  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

most  stunned  by. the  sight  of  my  wife,  standing 
close  by  my  side.  She  looked  at  me  without  re- 
cognition. She  was  the  same  cold,  queenly 
woman.  I  was  presented  and  talked  to  her  of  her 
husband,  whom  I  had  met  in  the  far  East.  She 
seemed  considerably  interested  in  me,  but  did 
not  evince  the  slightest  emotion  when  I  spoke  of 
her  husband  and  told  her  I  had  heard  of  his 
death  in  India.  She  said  in  chilling  tones  she 
felt  sure  it  was  a  false  rumor.  Had  she  shown 
any  feejing,  I  think  I  would  have  tried  to  get 
her  into  my  heart. 

I  went  to  my  old  home,  and  pretending  to  be 
shooting  and  belated,  went  to  Jim  Madison's 
cabin  about  sun-down  and  talked  to  him  and 
Dinah.  Neither  of  them  recognized  me,  but  when 
her  back  was  to  me  I  spoke  ;  she  started,  for  my 
voice  reached  her  memory.  They  were  both  true 
to  Mars  John,  whom  I  told  them  I  had  known  at 
college.  Dinah  shed  bitter  tears,  because  she 
could  never  see  him  again,  and  Jim  would  be 
like  Simeon  of  old,  if  his  eyes  could  rest  upon 
him  once  more.  They  were  to  be  trusted. 

I  went  to  the  cabin  door  and  finding  there  was 
no  one  in  the  neighborhood,  I  drew  my  hat  over 
my  face  and  said  in  my  natural  voice:  "Jim, 
Dinah,  don't  you  know  me?" 

They  sprang  to  me  at  once,  with  a  cry,  u  Oh 
bress  de  Lord,  it's  him, — it's  him — it's  Mars 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  2,2,$ 

John"  and  for  minutes  I  was  pressed  in  their 
arms,  while  they  shed  tears  and  gave  thanks  to 
the  good  God.  The  two  lowly  hearts  were  true  as 
steel  to  me,  and  would  be  willing  to  follow  me  to 
the  ends  of  the  earth.  Jim  was  a  teamster  and 
had  to  draw  a  load  of  cotton  to  the  nearest  steam 
boat  landing  on  the  following  day. 

In  my  boyhood  his  aquatic  qualities  won  my 
admiration  and  were  the  wonder  of  the  negroes 
for  many  miles  around.  To  my  inquiry  as  to  his 
ability  in  that  line  now,  he  proudly  stated  that 
"  he  was  a  duck  a-top  the  water,  an'  a  musrat 
under  it."  I  then  told  him  to  be  on  the  lookout, 
when  on  the  wharf  boat  the  next  day  ;  that  I 
'would  be  there ;  would  manage  to  tumble  into 
the  river  ;  he  was  to  rescue  me,  and  out  of  grati- 
tude I  would  purchase  him  and  Dinah,  and  take 
them  north  to  freedom. 

We  performed  our  comedy  admirably.  Water 
could  scarcely  drown  me,  for  from  childhood,  I 
had  been  a  water-dog,  and  when  Jim  made  his 
wonderful  dive,  and  brought  me  from  the  bot- 
tom, to  which  I  had  conveniently  sunken  the 
third  time,  I  acted  the  drowned  man  so  well, 
that  the  negroes  around  nearly  killed  me  by 
rolling  me  on  a  barrel  to  get  the  water  out  of  my 
stomach.  I  managed  to  be  properly  resusci- 
tated, and  in  three  days  Jim  and  Dinah,  paid  for, 
were  on  their  way  north.  They  had  no  children, 


224  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

and  left  no  ties  behind.  Jim  says,  "  he  is  a 
bigger  slave  than  ever,  for  I  am  always  on  his 
mind." 

We  reached  Cincinnati  last  spring,  and  I  feel 
certain  my  identity  can  never  be  discovered.  I 
have  my  two  oldest  earthly  friends  with  me,  and 
now  my  newest,  and  almost  only  other  one.  I  am 
trying  to  recover  a  part  of  my  fortune,  for  I  had 
but  little  left  when  I  reached  this  city.  I  came 
here  because,  the  only  words  I  ever  distinctly 
caught  from  my  brown  shawled  mate  and  her 
companions  were,  when  the  boy  said,  "  but  Cin- 
cinnati, you  know " that  was  all.  I  am 

here  making  a  little  money  speculating  in  grain; 
using  Jim's  rheumatism  to  inform  me  as  to 
weather  probabilities  and  if  prices  will  go  up  or 
down — and  keeping  my  eyes  always  open  for  the 
only  woman  I  have  ever  seen  whom  I  can  love. 

"  And  now  fill  up  your  chilbouque  and  let  us 
have  a  glass  of  beer."  He  rang  a  bell  and  told 
Jim  to  open  a  couple  of  bottles  of  ale. 

I  was  deeply  impressed  by  the  story — more 
so,  than  I  cared  my  friend  to  see.  To  open  up  a 
light  vein  of  conversation  I  asked  : 

"  What  was  that  you  said  abou  Jim's  rheuma- 
tism?" 

"  I  spoke  in  earnest  ;"  answered  Jack,  "  last 
summer  and  fall  I  used  Jim's  ankles  to  tell  me 
if  the  weather  would  be  favorable  for  crops.  He 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  225 

believes  implicitly  in  his  rheumatic  prognostica- 
tions. To  humor  him  I  follow  his  advice,  and 
so  far  have  never  failed  to  make  a  good  deal  by 
so  doing. 

I  thanked  Felden  for  his  story,  and  went  home 
pondering  upon  his  notions  and  pluck.  It  was 
strange  to  see  a  man  who  evidently  so  enjoyed 
lavish  luxury,  living  as  he  did,  when  a  beautiful 
wife,  a  vast  fortune  and  high  position  were  wait- 
ing for  him,  whenever  he  should  acknowledge 
his  proud  name. 

Toward  the  end  of  the  winter,  a  messenger 
brought  me,  from  Mr.  Felden  a  request  for  the 
address  of  a  first  class  physician,  and  telling  me 
Dinah  was  much  indisposed.  The  next  evening 
I  dropped  in  at  his  house,  but  he  begged  to  be 
excused.  The  message  brought  to  the  door  by 
Jim,  made  me  feel  my  visits  were  not  desired  for 
the  time  being.  Ten  days  elapsed  without  any 
news  from  him,  when  I  met  Dr.  J.  and  inquired 
as  to  the  condition  of  his  dusty  patient. 

"Oh!  ho!  Then  I  owe  to  you  this  new  patient ! 

I  stated  the  circumstances. 

"  Well,  Mr.  Jamison,  I  thank  you,  for  I  have 
had  a  revelation  at  that  bedside,  for  which  I 
would  not  take  a  thousand  dollars. " 

I  expressed  gratification  and  some  surprise. 

"You  know,"  the  genial  doctor  continued, 
"  you  know  that  I  am  an  old  time  abolitionist, 
and  one  of  the  straightest  kind." 


226  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

I  replied,  I  had  often  regretted  the  fact. 
Scarcely  noticing  my  remark  he  went  on  : 

"  I  have  received  a  revelation,  Mr.  Jamison, 
and  one  that  God  willing !  will  make  me  a  more 
charitable — a  braver,  perhaps  a  better  man. 
Think  of  it  sir  :  I  went  to  see  this  black  woman, 
expecting  to  find  her  in  charge  of  some  other  ig- 
norant woman  of  her  color.  But  instead  of  that, 
there  was  an  elegant  gentleman  sitting  at  her 
bed  side ;  his  hand  was  upon  her  hot  forehead, 
and  every  now  and  then  he  whispered,  "  Don't 
be  afraid  Mammy,  little  John  is  by  you,  and  he 
will  take  care  of  you."  The  poor  creature  was 
delirious.  She  thought  herself  on  a  southern 
plantation,  and  that  some  one  was  trying  to  do 
her  bodily  harm. 

"When  I  stepped  forward,  he  motioned  me  to 
be  still.  I  am  generally  an  autocrat  in  a  sick 
room,  but  that  man's  look  and  gesture  made  me 
a  regular  sucking  babe." 

I  laughed  at  the  'thought. 

"  You  needn't  laugh,  sir.  I  am  telling  God's 
truth.  Well !  when  he  had  quieted  her,  he  took 
ine  into  an  adjoining  room,  and  gave  me  his  di- 
agnosis of  the  case.  It  was  the  opinion  of  a  man 
of  science,  absolutely  correct.  I  left  my  prescrip- 
tion, promising  to  be  on  hand  as  early  as  pos- 
sible the  next  morning.  Would  you  believe  it, 
sir,  I  was  there  before  day-light?  I  wanted  to 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  227 

see  that  man.  I  found  him  seated  as  he  had  been 
the  night  before,  and  learned  he  had  been  there 
ever  since  I  left.  She  was  still  out  of  her 
head. 

Something  she  said  caused  the  gentleman  to 
say,  "She  must  be  saved.  She  and  her  husband 
are  all  that  are  left  to  me  of  a  great  plantation 
and  five  hundred  negroes." 

"Instead  of  feeling  disgust  for  the  owner  of 
five  hundred  human  beings,  I  felt  they  had  lost 
a  friend  when  they  lost  their  master.  For  a 
whole  week,  that  man  never  took  off  his  clothes, 
and  as  far  as  I  could  see,  never  left  that  lowty 
bed  side.  I  never  saw  such  devotion.  It  pulled 
her  through  ;  my  drugs  were  a  humbug,  sir. 
That  Christian  gentleman  saved  her  life." 

The  doctor  took  off  his  hat  and  mopped  his 
brow.  It  was  wet  from  the  energy  of  his 
speech. 

u  It  was  a  revelation  to  me,  sir.  Think  of  it ! 
A  man  can  own  human  beings,  and  still  be  a 
Christian.  If  our  Saviour  has  a  true  follower  on 
this  earth,  that  born  slave  owner  is  of  his  chosen 


ones." 


I  told  this  to  Felden  a  few  days  later.  He 
smiled  and  said,  UI  thank  the  good  doctor. 
Don't  tell  him  I  am  a  worshipper  of  the  one  un- 
known, and  unknownable  God.  I  reverence  Jesus 
of  Nazareth — I  reverence  Sidartha,  the  Buddh — 


228  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

I  reverence  Zoroaster.  They  were  the  greatest 
of  men,  whom  long  meditation  sublimated  and 
lifted  above  their  kind.  But  there  is  only  one 
God.  No  one  of  woman  born,  ever  could,  or  can 
conceive  his  form. 

The  best  and  purest  Christian  I  ever  met  was 
a  Hindoo,  not  only  in  race,  but  in  religion.  Yet, 
he  was  a  Christian  in  the  true  sense  of  the  word. 
He  lived  and  acted  the  life  inculcated  by  Jesus. 
The  next  best  was  a  Parsee  worshipper  of  the 
sun.  He  did  unto  his  kind  as  he  would  they 
should  do  unto  him.  He  clothed  the  naked,  fed 
the  hungry  and  healed  the  sick  ;  yet  he  gave  the 
body  of  his  beautiful  and  idolized  daughter  to 
be  devoured  by  vultures  on  the  Tower  of  Silence. 
One  of  the  genuine  Christians  I  have  met,  was  a 
Chinaman,  who  worshipped  Joss,  and  daily  knelt 
at  a  shrine  erected  to  him  in  the  back  of  his  shop. 
He  washed  the  wounds  of  a  stranger,  and  nursed 
him  for  weeks,  though  his  house  was  shunned 
as  the  home  of  pestilence. 

" Forgive  them  Father,  they  know  not  what 
they  do,"  might  be  offered  up  in  behalf  of  fully 
one  half  of  the  good  people  of  this  Christian  land. 
They  wrap  themselves  up  in  their  egotism  and 
their  bigotry.  They  follow  the  blind  lead  of  nar- 
row minded  preachers  and  make  the  pulpit  their 
fetich.  Bah  !  how  I  hate  cant  and  hypocricy  ! 
Poor  Dinah  is  as  black  as  the  ace  of  spades,  but 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  229 

under  her  dusky  breast  is  as  white  a  soul  as 
ever  came  from  the  breath  of  God  ;  and  I  am 
supposed  to  be  a  good  man,  simply  because  I  did 
not  leave  her  to  die  like  a  crippled  dog." 

"  No,  Mr.  Jamison,  I  am  no  better  than  I  ought 
to  be.  Dinah  nursed  me  on  her  breast  and  fed 
me  from  her  life's  blood,  when  I  was  helpless.  I 
was  only  a  man  when  I  nursed  her  through  this 
illness.  I  came  to  tell  you  she  is  nearly  well 
again,  and  Jim  wishes  you  to  eat  a  dinner  of  his 
cooking  to-morrow  evening.  Good  day."  And 
with  that  he  showed  me  his  straight  back  and 
massive  shoulders  as  he  walked  with  swinging 
strides  from  the  store. 

We  commenced  fishing  in  March  and  spent 
many  a  pleasant  hour  together,  on  the  water  by 
day,  and  in  his  den  at  evening.  Early  in  May, 
I  went  as  per  agreement  to  dine  with  him.  Jim 
handed  me  a  note.  It  read,  "Dear  Jamison,  go 
in  and  make  the  most  of  the  dinner.  I  am  off 
for  how  long,  I  know  not.  I  met  to-day,  my  fate 
of  the  brown  shawl.  I  follow  wherever  it  may 
lead  me,  never  tc  stop  until  my  doom  be 
found. 

Yours,  in  the  height  of  folly, 

JACK." 

Jim  informed  me  his  master  had  come  in  a 
half  hour  before  ;  after  hurriedly  filling  a  valise 
and  satchel,  he  had  jumped  into  the  carriage, 


230  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

which  brought  him  home,  saying  "  Goodbye  old 
folks,  take  care  of  the  dogs,  and  expect  me 
home,  when  you  see  me." 

Jim  added,  "  He's  all  right  up  here  sah," 
touching  his  head,  "  but  his  heart's  sort'er  crazy." 

I  could  scarcely  taste  the  food,  for  I  felt  that 
there  was  over  Jack,  and  thus  over  me,  an  im- 
pending disaster.  I  had  become  deeply  attached 
to  him.  One  knowing  the  intense  nature  of 
the  man  could  not  but  fear  he  was  following 
an  ignis  fatuus  to  his  doom.  Here  Avas  a 
married  man,  who  had  schooled  his  heart  and 
reason  to  the  belief  he  was  not  wedded — that  his 
marriage  was  a  fiction  of  the  law,  and  not  bind- 
ing on  his  conscience.  I  was  a  religious  man, 
and  shudderd  lest  my  friend  with  his  marvel- 
ous fascinations,  and  goaded  by  a  mad  passion, 
might  do  some  act  abhorrent  to  my  notions  of 
right. 

Days  and  weeks  of  uneasiness  on  my  own 
part,  and  apparently  of  distress  on  the  part  of 
the  two  colored  servants  passed  by,  without  a 
word  from  the  absent  one.  At  first  I  went  to 
his  house  repeatedly  to  rest  and  to  think  of  him, 
but  finally  satisfied  myself  with  inquiries  at  the 
door. 

About  two  months  after  his  disappearance,  it 
became  necessary  for  me  to  make  a  journey  to  a 
distant  state  in  the  interest  of  our  house.  I  was 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  231 

absent  over  a  fortnight.  Immediately  upon  my 
return,  I  visited  the  den  (I  had  learned  to  call  it 
thus).  A  white  woman  met  me  at  the  door  with 
the  information  that  she  was  the  present  tenant. 
She  knew  nothing  of  the  late  occupants,  but  re- 
ferred me  to  a  real  estate  firm  as  her  landlords. 
I  went  to  them.  They  knew  nothing  of  the  late 
tenants  of  the  cottage,  farther  than,  that  Mr. 
Jack  Felden  had  sent  them  the  keys,  and  the 
rent  to  the  end  of  the  term.  They  found  the 
premises  in  fine  condition,  but  nothing  to  indi- 
cate where  the  people  had  gone. 

It  was  evident  that  Felden  had,  what  he  con- 
sidered good  reasons  for  not  communicating 
with  me.  I  was  sure  he  sincerely  liked  me,  and 
would  not  thus  act,  unless  he  desired  to  cover 
his  tracks.  I  respected  his  wishes  and  did  not 
afterwards  refer  to  him.  Desiring  to  work  off 
my  anxiety  I  went  to  the  river  for  a  hard  trial  at 
rowing.  The  man  in  charge  of  my  boat  handed 
me  a  note  written  he  said,  by  himself  at  Jim's 
dictation.  It  simply  said,  "  Mars  Jack  axes  you 
to  take  his  canoe  for  yersef.  He  won't  want  it 
no  more.  Good  bye,  sah,  may  de  Lord  be  good 
to  you,  for  Mars  Jack  loved  you. 

his 

Jim  X  Madison 
mark" 


232  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

I  soon  learned  to  scull  the  outrigger  called  by 
Jim,  canoe,  and  used  it  for  years,  but  its  late 
owner  was  seen  by  me  no  more  in  Cincinnati. 
By  degrees  I  ceased  to  expect  him  again.  I 
often  thought  of  him,  and  a  prayer  for  his  hap- 
piness, became  a  part  of  my  nightly  supplica- 
tion, before  the  throne  of  grace. 


CHAPTER  III. 

Nearly  a  year  after  Felden's  disappearance,  I 
was  surprised  by  the  following  letter  from  him : 
"Dear  old  Jamison  : 

I  know  you  thought  and  think  me  a  scape 
grace,  but  when  you  read  what  I  shall  write,  you 
will  forgive  me  as  a  simple  madcap.  To  get  you 
into  a  proper  state  of  mind,  I  will  at  once  pro- 
ceed a  tale  to  unfold. 

The  day  of  my  departure  from  Cincinnati,  I 
went  to  the  Burnett  to  discuss  a  business  venture 
with  a  guest  of  the  house.  He  was  in  the  din- 
ing-room at  5  o'clock  dinner.  I  sat  by  his  side 
discussing  our  business,  when  I  was  startled  by 
the  tones  of  a  voice  near  by.  I  sought  it. 
There  just  opposite  to  me  the  "  brown  shawl'' 
was  being  seated.  An  elderly  lady  accompanied 
her. 

My  vis-a-vis,  was  a  young  girl,  not  over  eigh- 
teen, but  in  every  respect  the  woman  I  met  in 
'50,  at  the  flower-show  in  Regent's  Park.  There 
was  one  difference  it  is  true — in  her  coiffure  ;  as 
I  took  it,  the  result  of  change  of  fashion.  So 
vividly  was  the  photograph  of  years  ago  im- 
pressed on  my  memory,  and  so  exactly  was  it 
copied,  that  the  incongruity  of  time  and  added 
years  never  crossed  my  brain.  I  was  dazed  by 

233 


234  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

the  sudden  apparation  of  my  dream.  No  thought 
entered  my  mind  that  it  was  contrary  to  the  laws 
of  nature,  that  a  woman  of  18  in  '50  was  still 
only  18  now  ;  nor  did  the  idea  occur  to  me  that 
I  was  laboring  under  an  hallucination,  or  was 
the  victim  of  mistaken  identity.  The  woman  I 
had  worshipped  for  long  years  was  there  before 
me,  in  every  feature  the  same  as  memory 
pictured  her.  She  was  no  older,  and  was  altered 
only  as  change  of  fashion  had  altered  her.  I 
did  not  reason  on  the  subject. 

I  overheard  that  the  two  ladies  were  on  their 
way  to  Boston  ;  and  were  to  leave  on  the  7:30 
train,  going  East.  They  examined  a  time  table, 
and  speculated  as  to  their  stops  for  meals  before 
reaching  their  destination.  The  elder  was  ad- 
dressed as  "Auntie,"  the  younger  one  as  "Rita." 

In  an  hour  I  was  at  the  station  with  my  lug- 
gage. I  saw  them  enter  the  cars,  and  knew 
whenever  they  left  it  at  eating  stations.  At  Bos- 
ton I  made  my  cab  driver  follow  their  carriage 
and  took  the  number  of  the  dwelling  and  the 
name  of  the  street.  The  next  day  I  watched 
the  house.  At  noon  Rita  with  a  lady,  both  in 
calling  costume  took  a  carriage  at  the  door,  and 
Rita,  for  so  I  already  called  her  in  my  thoughts 
threw  a  kiss  to  a  child  who  had  followed  them 
from  the  house. 


THE   OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  235 

I  determined  this  was  her  home,  and  felt  no 
longer  any  necessity  for  constant  watching.  To- 
wards sundown  I  was  was  walking  in  the  Com- 
mon, where  she  and  I  met  face  to  face.  She 
looked  at  me,  but  as  one  to  her  an  indifferent 
stranger.  A  girl,  probably  of  five  years  was  her 
companion.  While  the  latter  sailed  a  toy  boat 
on  the  pond,  the  young  lady  sat  on  a  seat  not 
far  away. 

The  little  girl  dropped  her  hat  in  the  water, 
and  called  out,  "  Oh,  Aunt  Rita !  I've  lost  my 
hat."  They  tried  to  reach  it  with  her  parasol. 
I  ran  to  a  man  raking  grass,  took  his  rake  and 
rescued  the  hat.  When  I  put  it  on  the  child's 
head,  the  aunt  thanked  me,  with  a  smile  that 
was  a  ray  of  sunshine.  Her  voice,  modulated  to 
express  thanks,  was  simply  music. 

Resolved  to  take  advantage  of  any  and  every 
opportunity  to  make  her  acquaintance,  I  took 
off  my  hat  saying,  "Pardon  me,  but  we  have  met 
before.  It  was  in  London,  in  1850." 

She  replied,  with  a  smile,  "Your  memory  must 
be  wonderful,  for  at  that  time,  I  was — let  me  see — 
and  she  counted  the  years  on  her  fingers,  "I  was 
then  nine  years  old,  and  very  small  for  my  age." 
I  was  dumbfounded,  for  as  yet  I  had  not  thought 
of  the  anachronism  I  had  been  guilty  of.  I  said, 
"  it  is  strange" — my  voice  sounded  hollow  to  my- 
self— "but  a  young  lady,  your  very  image,  I  met 


236  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

a  dozen  times,  and  what  is  stranger  still,  she  wore 
the  self  same  brown  shawl  which  covered  your 
shoulders  at  the  Burnett  house,  a  few  days  since." 
She  did  not  notice  my  allusion  to  the  Burnett 
house  but  burst  out  in  a  hearty  laugh  and  clapped 
her  hands  so  loudly,  that  the  little  girl  ran  to  her. 

"  I  see  it  all,"  she  cried  ;  "  Minnie,  my  sister, 
was  in  London  that  year,  and  wore  that  shawl. 
Her  picture  was  taken  in  it  about  the  same  time, 
and  when  I  grew  up  I  was  so  wonderfully  like 
her,  that  she  gave  it  to  me  ;  when  I  fix  my  hair 
as  hers  was,  and  put  on  that  wrap,  every  one  de- 
clares the  picture  to  be  the  very  image  of  my- 
self. 

I  had  broken  the  ice  rather  unconventionally, 
and  was  determined  not  to  recede.  I  said  "But 
she  was  with  her  father  and  a  little  boy."  I  felt 
I  was  treading  on  thin  ice,  but  if  it  were  not  her 
father,  I  would  manage  in  some  way  to  get  out 
of  my  mistake. 

"Yes !"  she  replied.  "Yes  !  my  poor  dear 
father  and  dear  little  Ralph  were  with  her.  I 
was  at  school  at  home.  Poor  papa — poor  Ralph." 
Her  eyes  became  suffused.  "Papa  and  Minnie 
went  abroad  for  brother  Ralph's  health.  Poor 
boy,  he  did  not  live  to  get  home,  and  papa  died 
the  next  year." 

It  was  not  right,  but  I  could  not  resist  it.  I 
knew  that  grief  admits  a  friend  more  readily 


THE  OLD  MAN'S  STORY.  237 

than  gaiety,  so  I  said:  "  Yes !  Ralph  looked 
very  frail,  but  your  father  was  the  picture  of 
health.  I  was  abroad  after  that  for  several 
years  and  lost  sight  of  them." 

She  paused  a  while,  and  then  continued, 
"dear  papa  was  never  sick,  but  his  troubles  broke 
his  heart  and  killed  him.  You  know  it  was  a 
terrible  thing  to  be  cheated  of  all  he  possessed 
by  the  man  he  thought  his  best  friend." 

I  saw  she  had  an  idea,  I  had  known  her  father 
and  of  his  affairs.  I  was  villian  enough  not  to 
undeceive  her.  What  is  more,  I  felt  I  had  a 
right  to  be  free  with  this  girl.  I  had  worshipped 
her  sister  for  years,  and  in  every  land.  She  and 
her  sister  were  now  become  as  one,  and  that  one 
was  designed  by  nature  for  me. 

The  child  ran  up  and  pulled  her  hand.  "Lets 
go  home,  aunt  Rita,  I  am  hungry." 

She  arose,  and  nodding  me  a  polite  good  even- 
ing, said: 

"  I  suppose  you  will  come  to  see  Minnie. 

Her  house  is  No. .  My  aunt  and  I  are 

visiting  her." 

I  promised  to  do  so,  and  passed  a  sleepless 
night,  racking  my  brain  to  discover  some  way 

of  getting  into  No. without  taking  advantage 

of  this  sweet  girl's  unconventional  innocence. 
Could  I  tell  a  lie  ?  Would  it  be  a  lie  to  excuse 
myself  on  the  plea  of  having  a  slight  acquaint- 


238  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

ance  with  the  dead  father?  I  lived  a  lie ;  was 
indeed  a  living  lie,  but  I  had  as  yet  to  my  recol- 
lection never  uttered  a  direct  one. 

On  the  next  day  I  called,  asking  for  the  la- 
dies. I  sent  in  a  card  with  an  assumed  name 
and  wrote  under  it,  "An  acquaintance  of  years 
ago."  Rita  and  Mrs.  Wilton,  her  sister,  came  in 
together.  I  stood  for  several  minutes  speech- 
less. There  were  the  two  sisters.  Apparently 
there  was  ten  years  difference  in  their  ages,  and 
the  disparity  was  patent.  Yet  I  looked  from 
one  to  the  other,  and  for  a  while  was  hardly  able 
to  determine  that  it  was  the  elder  I  had  pre- 
viously met.  I  hid  my  confusion.  They  seemed 
never  to  question  my  having  been  a  friend  of 
their  father.  Neither  evinced  the  slightest  emo- 
tion when  our  eyes  met.  I  had  while  abroad,  the 
entre  of  many  noble  houses.  I  used  this  fact  as 
a  sort  of  credential  and  succeeded  so  well  that 
Mr.  Wilton  called  at  my  hotel  and  invited  me  to 
dine  with  his  family. 

The  visit  was  repeated  ;  and  I  was  well  re- 
ceived. I  honored  the  wife — but  loved  the  young 
sister.  It  seemed  to  me  it  was  she  I  had  been 
carrying  all  of  these  years  in  my  heart ;  and  I 
did  not  stop  to  think  what  all  this  might  lead  to. 
When  I  changed  my  skin  in  India  I  became  the 
man  I  pretended  to  be.  I  was  the  homeless  Jack 
Feldeu.  I  was  madly  infatuated,  and  what  may 


THE:  OLD  MAN'S  STORY.  239 

seem  strange,  while  I  trembled  when  I  looked  at 
or  touched  the  younger  sister,  I  felt  not  a  single 
tremor,  when  the  elder  walked  to  a  concert  at 
night  with  her  hand  on  my  arm ;  not  an  emo- 
tion, when  she  looked  me  in  the  face.  I  loved 
her  years  ago,  I  loved  her  sister  now  because 
she  and  her  sister  had  become  one,  and  that  one 
was  the  younger. 

I  watched  Rita  and  could  not  find  that  I 
aroused  one  single  feeling  of  reciprocation  in  her 
breast.  I  grew  mad  at  the  thought,  and  at  uight 
cried  aloud  in  agony.  Was  it  true — could  it  be 
true,  that  after  all,  I  was  nothing  to  this  woman 
who,  I  believed,  was  made  for  me? 

I  spoke  one  day  of  the  episode  at  the  flower 
show,  intimating  nothing  which  could  connect 
them  with  it.  Minnie  told  how  she,  too,  once  had 
fallen  in  love  the  same  way ;  suddenly  she 
started  and  fixed  her  eyes  on  my  black  hair  and 
olive  hue.  The  look  seemed  to  recall  her ;  she 
had  no  suspicion. 

I  pondered  on  the  thing.  Years  ago  my 
glance  sent  the  blood  crimson  to  her  brow.  The 
sister  now  affected  me  as  she  had  formerly  done, 
but  I  seemed  to  be  nothing  to  her.  I  spent 
sleepless  nights  trying  to  account  for  this.  I 
reached  the  conclusion  at  last  that  love — passion- 
ate love,  was  a  physicial  as  well  as  a  spiritual 


240  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

emotion  ;  that  I  was  wearing  a  mask  covering 
niy  true  self,  and  to  win  Rita  I  must  unmask. 

I  have  told  you  I  could  remove  and  replace 
my  scar  in  a  day,  but  to  change  the  color  of  my 
hair  or  complexion  requires  from  four  to  six 
months.  I  learned  that  Rita,  with  her  aunt, 
whom  I  did  not  meet,  would  return  to  their  home 
in  Tennessee  within  a  month,  and  she  would 
then  be  a  village  fixture  for  perhaps  a  year.  I 
grew  madly  jealous  lest  some  one  should  love 
and  win  her  before  I  could  appear  properly  be- 
fore her. 

I  swore  to  have  her,  and  when  won,  I  felt  sure 
she  would  never  change,  but  would  wait  and 
wait  until  she  could  be  mine.  I  bade  the  sisters 
goodbye  with  a  heavy  heart — all  the  heavier, 
because  on  their  part  leave-taking  was  only 
kindly. 

I  hurried  to  Cincinnati ;  avoided  places  where 
I  could  meet  you  ;  gathered  together  my  guns 
and  fishing-tackle,  my  cosmetics  and  wardrobe 
sufficient  for  several  months  absence;  arranged 
my  bank  account  and  went  to  Chicago,  where  I 
thought  the  Ethiopian  might  change  his  skin 
without  observation.  Jim  being  able  to  read  my 
writing  when  in  plain  characters,  was  directed 
to  pack  up  all  my  valuables  and  to  hold  himself 
in  readiness  to  come  to  me  at  once  on  receipt  of 
a  letter. 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  241 

He  and  his  wife  finally  joined  me.  I  sent 
him  to  Tennessee  to  learn  the  lay  of  the  land  in 
the  town  in  which  Rita'a  annt  resided.  To  escape 
any  difficulties  a  Northern  negro  might  encounter 
in  a  small  Southern  town,  he  went  as  a  boat 
hand  on  a  steamer  running  from  St.  Louis  ; 

managed  to  get  sick  when was  reached, 

and  was  necessarily  put  ashore.  In  a  month  he 
returned  full  of  the  information  I  desired. 

I  learned  that  the  father  of  the  two  sisters, 
Mr.  Dixon,  had  been  a  wealthy  merchant  in  one 
of  the  large  southern  cities.  He  was  an  English- 
man by  birth  and  had  lost  his  wife,  a  high-born 
Spanish  lady,  when  Rita  was  a  small  child. 
They  had  no  relations  in  America,  except  the 
aunt,  under  whose  care  the  youngest  daughter 
was  living  and  upon  whom  she  was  dependent. 
When  the  family  was  in  England  for  Ralph's 
health  in  '50,  the  partner  of  Mr.  Dixon  contrived 
to  raise  a  very  large  sum  of  money  and  de- 
camped. Mr.  Dixon  reached  home  to  find  him- 
self an  absolute  pauper.  The  blow  prostrated 
him,  and  in  a  few  months  he  was  laid  beside  his 
wife.  Rita  had  only  a  village  education,  but 
was  a  great  reader  and  a  good  musician.  Her 
aunt,  Mrs.  Allen,  had  been  governess  in  a  noble- 
man's house  in  England,  was  literary  and  de- 
cidedly uppish  and  withal  intensely  avaricious. 


242  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Mr.  Wilton  was  the  Boston  correspondent  of 
the  mined  firm,  and  in  the  course  of  settling  with 
it  met  and  won  Minnie.  Rita's  aunt,  or  rather, 
aunt-in-law,  the  widow  of  her  father's  only 
brother,  took  charge  of  her  and  made  her  home 
an  unhappy  one,  not  by  direct  unkindness,  but 
by  her  querulous,  carping  and  sarcastic  disposi- 
tion and  manner.  She  would  long  since  have 
gone  to  her  sister  but  for  a  dislike  of  Wilton, 
who,  though  most  kind  to  his  wife,  was  a  selfish 
man,  and  had  given  his  young  sister-in-law  some 
great  offense  for  which  the  Spanish  blood,  so  hot 
in  her  veins,  forbade  forgiveness. 

I  do  not  remember  ever  to  have  told  you  that 
Jim  Madison,  the  obedient  servant  and  devoted 
slave  of  his  once  master,  is  a  man  of  great 
native  intellect.  When  a  boy,  I  taught  him  to 
read  a  little  and  in  Cincinnati  spent  much  time 
trying  to  educate  him.  He  was  wonderfully  apt 
and  occasionally  with  strangers  uses  good  Bng- 
lish,  but  with  me  and  my  intimates  prefers  to  be 
the  negro  servant  and  to  use  plantation  language. 
He  is  intensely  loving,  absolutely  honest,  and  at 
times  startles  me  by  an  almost  savage  dignity 
inherited  through  a  short  line  from  his  African 
forefathers.  Reared  among  a  thousand  negroes, 
for  Clifton  and  Brandon  people  mingled  almost 
as  if  of  one  plantation — jolly  and  light  in  his 
heart,  he  courted  popularity  among  his  kind  and 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  243 

became  one  of  the  most  astute  diplomats.  I 
love  him  as  my  servant  and  honor  him  as  a 
true  and  honest  man  ;  respect,  and  if  he  were 
not  my  friend,  would  almost  fear  him  as  a  shrewd, 
self  poised,  ever  alert  diplomatist.  I  had  known 
his  qualities  before,  yet  the  thoroughness  of  his 

information  brought  me  from amazed  me. 

He  managed  to  get  a  job  of  sawing  a  load  of  fire- 
wood and  packing  it  in  the  aunt's  yard,  and  from 
that  he  became  domiciled  in  a  room  over  the 
kitchen.  With  his  open  but  shrewd  honesty,  he 
became  almost  a  confident  of  Miss  Rita. 

You  who  have  never  lived  in  the  South  cannot 
understand  how  closely  drawn  together  are  kind 
masters  and  mistresses  and  humble  but  faithful 
servants. 

The  cunning  Hindoo  who  gave  me  my  raven 
locks  and  olive  complexion,  gave  me  also  in- 
gredients to  restore  my  original  appearance  more 
rapidly  than  nature,  unassisted,  would  do,  and 
at  the  same  time,  cosmetics,  which  would  enable 
me  to  conceal  the  change  while  going  on.  The 
effects  of  the  cosmetics  were  entirely  temporary, 
and  easily  removable. 

When  Jim  returned,  I  was  ready  to  reassume 
my  skin.  When  emerging  from  my  bath  one 
morning,  I  was  no  longer  Jack  Felden,  but  John 

of  Clifton, .  Jim  and  Dinah  shed 

tears  of  joy,  crying  together  "  Bress  de  Lord!  oh 


244  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

bress  de  Lord — its  Mars  John — its  hisself 
shuali ";  and  they  hugged  me  again  and  again. 

Dinah  sat  down  in  a  rocking  chair  and  said, 
"  Come  to  Mammy,  honey  ;  jes  let  Mammy  nuss 
her  baby  boy  one  more  time,  and  I'se  ready  to  go 
to  glory. 

I  lay  my  head  on  the  loving  creature's  lap, 
while  she  combed  out  niy  hair  and  tried  to  curl 
it  around  her  fingers.  The  curls  of  my  youth, 
however,  were  gone  forever. 

When  I  looked  into  the  glass,  and  saw  my 
changed  appearance,  a  sudden  revulsion  of  feel- 
ing came  over  me.  I  was  John :  I  was 

the  unhappy  husband  of  my  cold  cousin.  A 
gulf  arose  between  Rita  and  myself.  How  dare 
I  think  of  winning  the  love  of  that  pure  girl  ! 
I,  who  was  bound  by  the  law  of  man  to  another, 
even  though  my  reason  and  my  heart  told  me,  I 
was  free.  So  thoroughly  had  I  indentified  my- 
self with  the  character  of  Jack  Felden,  while 
wearing  his  hair  and  complexion,  that  the  recol- 
lection of  my  real  name  and  position  was  blurred. 
It  is  true,  my  unfortunate  marriage  was  never 
entirely  forgotten,  but  I  felt  myself  a  new  man, 
with  new  lights  and  different  possibilities.  The 
husband  of  Belle  had  become  an  unreal  shadow — 
the  figment  of  a  disordered  imagination.  The  life 
I  had  been  living  for  years  began  in  the  Bengalee 
village,  when  the  cunning  Hindoo  made  me  a 


THE  OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  245 

stranger  to  my  servant — ;all  before  that  was  a 
drearn.  Now  having  laid  aside  my  mask,  I  was 
the  dead  man  come  back  to  life,  with  all  his 
memories  and  his  hated  ties. 

I  took  long  walks  at  night  out  into  the  open 
country.  I  fought  the  demon  of  memory ;  I 
fought  the  commands  of  conscience.  But  con- 
science would  not  down.  The  blood  spot  would 
not  out.  Despair  filled  me. 

Aided  by  my  temporary  cosmetics,  I  again  be- 
came Jack  Felden,  but  the  change  was  only  par- 
tial. My  glass  told  me  I  was  he,  my  conscience 

whispered,  I  was  John .  Mine  was  a  dual 

being.  The  hopes  of  the  masquerader  were  de- 
pressed by  the  fears  of  the  real  man.  I  decided 
to  send  Jim  to  Clifton  to  learn  something  of  Belle, 
resolved  if  she  were  still  clinging  to  her  pride, 
to  speculate  boldly — to  win  a  fortune  and  give 
it  to  Rita  as  a  restitution  coming  from  her 
father's  swindler. 

You  know  something  of  my  success  in  Cin- 
cinnati. Jim  had  been  my  lucky  stone ;  his 
rheumatic  limbs  were  my  barometer,  telling 
me  what  the  season  would  be  from  week  to  week, 
and  though  I  did  not  believe  in  it,  I  had  specu- 
lated on  what  his  joints  foretold  and  was  now 
the  possessor  of  a  fair  competency — I  would 
risk  my  all,  court  fortune's  smile  to  make  or 
break.  If  fortune  should  favor  me,  all  would  be 


246  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Rita's ;  I  would  avoid  her  forever  ;  if  the  fickle 
jade  failed  me,  Jim  and  I  could  gain  a  livelihood 
in  new  endeavors. 

While  shedding  my  skin,  I  had  made  several 
small  successful  ventures  in  corn  and  wheat. 
Jim  and  I  put  our  heads  together  (or  rather,  I 
put  my  head  to  his  shins)  and  we  arrived  at  con- 
clusions, which  should  lead  to  wealth,  or  to  pov- 
erty. I  put  aside  a  couple  of  thousands  for  Jim 
and  Dinah,  staking  all  the  rest  of  my  fortune 
in  margins.  I  won  from  the  first.  I  pushed 
my  luck  with  reckless  daring,  turning  my  profits 
into  margins  and  new  ventures.  At  the  end  of 
two  weeks,  my  means  were  doubled. 

I  was  eating  my  dinner — one  of  the  best  Dinah 
ever  prepared — when  Akbor  and  Queen  watch- 
ing me  close  by  my  chair,  suddenly  sprang  up, 
and  rushed  to  the  door  whining  and  uttering 
low  barks.  Jim  entered,  to  be  overthrown  by 
the  delighted  animals.  Gathering  himself  up 
quickly,  he  held  out  his  hand  to  me,  an  unusual 
familiarity,  for  Jim  is  my  friend,  yet  my  slavish 
servant,  and  rarely  loses  the  demeanor  of  the 
servant. 

"  Bress  de  Lord,  Mars  Jack  ;  shout  glory  hal- 
lelujer  Dineh,  you  black  niggar  !  We'se  free  ! 
and  created  equal  as  shuah  as  Tom  Jeffersom 
printed  de  declaratium !" 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  247 

I  made  him  sit  down  and  tell  his  story.  He 
told  me  all  he  thought  of  interest  regarding  the 
dear  home  of  my  childhood. 

I  tried  to  get  him  to  the  point  on  which  I 
most  desired  information,  but  he  could  not  be 
induced  to  alter  the  thread  of  his  narration  in  the 
least  detail.  Finally  I  learned  that  Belle,  who 
had  gone  abroad  twelve  months  before,  was  to  be 
married  in  a  month  to  an  Italian  Lord. 

"Jess  think  of  it  Dineh — git  it  through  yo' 
wool,  ole  gal. — over  dah  dey  calls  men  lords.  I 
don't  wonnah  dat  Sodum  and  Gomorrah  was 
guv  up  to  fire  and  brimstone.  I  specks  dar 
was  lords  in  dem  days.  The  reel  Lord  will  make 
Miss  Belle  a  piller  of  salt — shuah  !  stick  dat  in 
yo'  craw,  Dineh — dar  is  one  Lord,  and  he  tells 
us  in  de  book,  dat  he  am  a  jellus  God." 

Jim  then  spread  before  me  a  newspaper  printed 

in It  announced,  as  a  most  important 

event — "That  the  beautiful   and  queenly  Mrs. 

Belle whose   husband,  Mr.  John 

had  mysteriously  disappeared  in  185-,  supposed 
to  have  died  of  cholera  in  India,  had  become  a 
Catholic  and  was  about  to  be  married  to  the 

Marquis    of in    Rome.      Mrs. — 

had  with  hopeful  love  for  her  husband,  for  all 
these  years  refused  to  credit  the  report  of  his 
death  ;  even  now,  she  was  unwilling  to  act  on  in- 
formation she  had  gained  at  great  expense,  from 


248  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

India  ;  information  which  every  one  else  thought 
thoroughly  reliable.  She  had  therefore  applied 
to  the  Pope  for  a  dispensation  ;  that  as  soon  as 
the  formalities  necessary  at  the  Vatican  were 
completed,  she  would  at  once  become  the  Mar- 

chionness  of .  The  marriage  was  to 

occur  on  the day — ,  just  one  month  from 

the  day  of  the  publication  of  this  paper." 

Oh  Jamison,  old  fellow,  that  was  a  happy 
hour  for  me.  I  had  that  day  closed  very  success- 
ful deals.  I  was  almost  rich  and  could  win  and 
wear  Rita.  I  did  not  for  a  moment  doubt  she 
would  be  mine,  for  I  honestly  believed  her  my 
mate.  All  impatience  to  fly  to  her,  I  made  an 
arrangement  to  travel  south  for  a  Chicago  firm, 
to  be  paid  out  of  commission  alone.  Jim  in- 
formed me  that  Rita's  aunt  sometimes  rented 
her  front  parlor  and  a  bed-room  attached,  to 
traveling  men  with  samples;  that  it  was  a  source 
of  much  mortification  to  the  niece,  for  the  el- 
derly lady  was  rich  and  had  no  children,  rent- 
ing the  room  out  of  pure  avarice.  I  resolved  to 
lease  it,  for  it  would  bring  me  close  to  Rita  and 
would  arouse  her  animosity,  out  of  which  I  would 
snatch  victory. 

I  washed  every  vestige  of  Jack  Felden  from 
my  hair  and  skin,  but  put  a  scar  on  my  cheek, 
which  with  a  full  beard  and  straight  hair,  I 
thought  would  insure  me  against  all  recognition, 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  249 

should  chance  bring  me  in  contact  with  some 
one  I  had  known  in  early  manhood.  On  reach- 
ing  ,  leaving  my  luggage  and  sample  boxes 

at  the  wharf,  I  went  at  once  to  the  home  of  the 
aunt;  secured  the  rooms  and  agreed  to  pay  a 
large  price  for  my  breakfast  and  supper  in  the 
house.  Thus  the  best  of  treatment  was  secured, 
for  the  avaricious  old  lady  would  try  to  keep  me 
as  long  as  possible. 

My  first  meal  in  the  house,  was  supper. 
When  Rita  came  to  the  table,  she  scarcely 
deigned  to  notice  me.  She  disliked  me  for  taking 
the  parlor. 

Mrs.  Allen,  the  aunt,  was  a  screw,  but  she  was 
an  epicure.  Her  old  cook  was  an  artist.  Like 
all  genuine  gourmets,  the  old  lady  was  a  table 
talker,  and  a  good  one.  I  resolved  to  return 
Miss  Rita's  disdain,  by  ignoring  her  presence, 
and  if  possible  to  arouse  her  interest  in  me, 
against  her  will. 

When  the  aunt  served  me  with  tea,  she  said: 

"Mr.  Felden,  there  is  a  cup  which  I  am  sure 
you  cannot  equal  in  Chicago.  New  made  people 
can  soon  become  good  judges  of  coffee,  but  a 
connoiseur  in  tea  must  have  blue  blood  in  his 


veins." 


"I  do  not  boast  a  long  line  of  ancestry,"  I  re- 
joined, "but  my  palate  must  be  the  heritage  of 
good  blood,  for  I  enjoy  the  Chinese  drink 


250  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

greatly,  and  am  very  particular  as  to  the  brand. 
There  is  only  one  country  in  the  world  where 
good  tea  is  almost  universal.  A  bad  cup  in  Rus- 
sia, I  found  the  exception." 

uAh,"  she  said,  "but  it  is  in  England,  that  it 
is  always  above  the  average." 

"Yes,"  I  acknowledged,  "as  a  food,  not  as  a 
beverage.  English  tea  is  good  to  eat — that  is  to 
mix  with,  and  wash  down  your  muffins.  In 
Russia  tea  is  a  drink,  and  is  even  jealous  of  a 
thing  so  coarse  as  sugar.  I  learned  there  to  put 
into  my  cup  only  a  soupcon  of  sweet." 
•  "You  have  been  in  the  land  of  the  Czar  then, 
have  you?" 

"I  spent  some  time  within  his  dominions,"  I 
replied. 

"You  have  been  a  traveler,  then  I  suppose. 
What  other  countries  have  you  visited  ?  Pardon 
my  seeming  impertinence,  but  I  have  found  it  a 
good  beginning  to  an  acquaintance,  to  learn 
where  each  has  been.  I  have  myself,  wandered 
considerably,  but  only  in  Europe." 

"I  have  visited  nearly  every  European  land;" 
I  said,  for  I  was  determined  to  please  her  and  at 
the  same  time  to  win  the  attention  of  the  niece, 
who  so  far,  had  only  noticed  me  by  casual 
glances,  "  have  hunted  the  tiger  in  Indian  jun- 
gles and  laved  my  limbs  in  holy  Ganges  among 
its  devotees. " 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  251 

"  Oh,  how  charming !  "  the  good  lady  ex- 
claimed. "  I  thought  I  was  getting  only  a  lib- 
eral lodger  and  I  find  I  may  be  entertaining  a 
savant." 

"  To  get  myself  on  the  best  footing,  dear 
Madam,"  I  rejoined,"  I  will  say  I  have  straddled 
the  equator,  and  have  used  the  Arctic  Circle  for 
a  trapeze." 

She  clapped  her  hands,  saying,  "That's  capi- 
tal, is  it  not,  Rita  ?  What  else,  and  where  else, 
Mr.  Traveler?" 

u  In  Burmah  I  have  ogled  beauties  with  huge 
cigars  piercing  the  lobes  of  their  ears,  and  have 
worshipped  Soudanise  ladies  closely  veiled  on  the 
upper  Nile,  awakening  from  my  dream  of  adora- 
tion to  find  the  Yashmac  of  my  divinities  cover- 
ing ebony  coloured  features." 

"  Go  on,  dear  sir,  go  on,  I  am  wrapt  in  pro- 
found attention,"  and  the  old  wizened  eyes 
sparkled  with  pleasure. 

u  I  have  been  in ,"  I  glanced  at  Rita,  she 

was  listening  with  intense  interest  ;  I  grew 
ashamed  of  the  game  and  paused.  But  knowing 
how  a  woman's  nature  clothes  the  mysterious 
man  in  brightest  garments,  and  is  ready  to  find 
the  prince  in  beggar's  raiment,  I  resolved  to 
show  her  a  despised  drummer,  who  had  been  in 
all  lands,  and  even  an  actor  in  wild  and  danger- 
ous adventures. 


252  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

"  I  have  crossed  the  dark  teak  forests  of  Siam, 
where  jungle  fever  kills  its  victims  in  a  single 
day,  and  escaped  its  venom  by  swallowing  qui- 
nine  by  the  handfnl  and  by  sleeping  in  the 
hondah  on  my  elephant's  back.  A  single  night 
on  the  ground  would  have  been  death." 

Rita  changed  her  seat  to  become  my  vis-a-vis 
and  from  then  never  removed  her  eyes  from  my 
face. 

I  continued  :  "  In  Cambodia  I  lived  a  week  in 
a  grand  palace,  surrounded  by  huge  temples  of 
fine  architectural  beauty  ;  temples  and  palaces 
covering  a  mile  square;  and  excepting  my  ser- 
vants, I  was  the  only  tenant  of  a  magnificent  lost 
city.  Trees  were  rooting  on  the  friezes  of  noble 
porticos  and  splitting  their  marble  members 
asunder. 

"  I  was  once  caged  in  a  small  cave  near  old  Gol- 
conda,  and  my  guard  of  honor  was  a  huge  tiger, 
who  lay  across  the  entrance  to  the  den,  and 
strove  to  tear  down  the  barricade  I  had  erected 
to  keep  him  out.  His  fierce  growls  as  he  wildly 
scratched  against  the  granite  wall,  curdled  the 
blood  in  my  veins  and  his  breath  came  hot  upon 
my  face,  the  winding  crevices  in  the  barricade 
permitting  this,  while  not  allowing  me  to  shoot 
through  them.  I  sat  rifle  in  hand,  expecting 
every  minute  that  my  protection  would  give  way, 
and  then  barely  hoping  that  I  might  send  a 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  253 

bullet  into  the  monster's  brain.  Finally  the  wall 
toppled — he  crouched  for  the  fatal  spring,  when 
a  shell  from  my  faithful  gun  pierced  his  heart, 
and  I  sank  in  a  swoon  from  long  excitement,  and 
physical  exhaustion." 

A  sweet  voice  of  intense  emotion  came  across 
the  table. 

"And — and — please  tell  me  how  long  did  you 
lie  in  the  swoon  ?" 

Ah,  how  I  did  long  to  press  to  my  bosom  that 
dear,  sympathetic  heart  ! 

I  replied,  "  I  do  not  know,  but  when  I  came 
to,  I  felt  I  was  dying  from  thirst.  I  crept 
through  the  opening  and  with  the  tiger's  blood 
not  yet  cold,  moistened  my  parching  tongue.  I 
lapped  it  in  a  sort  of  revenge." 

"  That  was  grand  !  Oh,  why  am  I  not  a  man  ?" 
she  exclaimed. 

I  leaned  towards  her,  my  heart  spoke  in  tones 
she  did  not  mistake.  "  Thank  God  !  thank  God  ! 
you  are  not." 

She  started,  her  eyes  met  mine,  every  drop  of 
blood  seemed  to  leave  her  cheek,  she  was  so  pale  ; 
our  eyes  looked  into  our  eyes.  Her  face  crim- 
soned, and  she  rushed  out  of  the  room. 

Mrs.  Allen  apolegetically — "  do  not  mind  that 
child,  Mr.  Felden,  she's  an  idiot,"  and  then,  her 
face  became  nearly  malignant,  u  Yes,  she's  an 
idiot,  a  plague  and  a  nuisance." 


254  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

How  I  hated  her !  How  I  gloated  over  the 
idea,  that  I  would  take  the  plague  from  her, 
resolved  never  to  ask  her  consent.  For  several 
days  the  young  lady's  manner  was  constrained 
but  not  haughty.  I  was  differential  but  reserved. 
Indeed  I  felt  a  sort  of  timidity  when  she  was 
present.  I  avoided  every  appearance  of  throw- 
ing myself  into  her  company. 

I  spent  some  time  in  the  business  quarter  of 
town  and  soon  secured  some  capital  orders  for 
my  employers.  This  gave  me  real  pleasure. 
You,  old  Jamison,  who  are  so  true  to  your  firm, 
understand  this  feeling.  I  made  excursions  to 
other  towns  where  I  was  somewhat  successful. 

The  fourth  Sunday  was  a  glorious  sunny  day, 
just  the  one  for  a  long  ramble  in  the  country. 

At  breakfast  I  asked  Rita  to  join  me  in  a  con- 
stitutional. The  aunt  spoke  up,  u  Of  course 
she  will,  I  would  go  myself,  but  my  lame  foot 
forbids  it." 

I  proposed  going  to  the  hotel  to  get  a  lunch. 

"No!  No!  "the  old  lady  said.  "  No  !  I  will 
put  you  up  a  nice  basket.  In  a  few  days  you 
will  take  me  out  for  a  long  promenade  a  voiture." 
I  consented  by  a  nod. 

With  basket  in  hand,  we  left  the  house 
early.  My  companion  wore  a  charming  but 
plain  walking  habit ;  a  boy's  straw  hat  sat  jaunt- 
ily on  her  head.  I  was  sure  I  had  never  seen 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  255 

anything  half  so  beautiful,  as  was  this  dark,  yet 
fair  young  girl.  Rita  was  a  glorious  walker. 
Hers  was  not  the  gliding  swimming  motion 
which  in  America  and  especially  in  the  South, 
has  been  regarded  as  the  ne  plus  ultra  of  female 
grace  ;  but  the  light  springing  movement,  with 
which  fair  Eve  tripped  over  Eden's  bloom  be- 
spangled glens,  when  she  gathered  flowers  of 
every  sweet  odor  and  of  every  native  tint  to  deck 
her  bridal  bed ;  when  she  tripped  over  nature's 
parterres  and  scarcely  brushed  away  the  dews 
sparkling  on  their  wealth  of  fragrant  bloom. 

We  walked  and  gaily  chatted.  She  lost  all 
the  reserve,  which  since  I  became  an  inmate  of 
her  auntie's  home  had  more  or  less  marked  her 
demeanor.  She  was  the  young  village  maiden, 
who  had  in  artless  innocence,  at  Boston's  old 
frog  pond,  laughingly  talked  with  the  respectful 
stranger.  But  when  our  eyes  met,  her  soul 
spoke  unconsciously  through  them,  telling  me 
that  she  read  my  heart  and  was  full  of  sym- 
pathy. 

We  reached  a  high  tree-clad  bluff,  which  over- 
looked a  wide  river  bend.  The  sun  was  warm, 
but  sent  upon  us  no  burning  rays  ;  rather  shim- 
mering his  light  through  the  leafy  shade. 
Across  the  stream,  a  broad  bottom  lay,  waving 
in  grass  and  grain,  and  bright  here  and  there 
with  opening  cotton  bloom.  We  sat  side  by  side 


256  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

on  a  fallen  tree,  and  drank  in  the  beauty  of  a 
picture  painted  from  colors  worked  upon  nature's 
pallette. 

We  descended  toward  the  river  bank  to  a  pretty 
little  spring  which  Rita  had  before  oftentimes 
visited.  We  partook  of  the  lunch  Mrs.  Allen 
had  put  up  for  us,  or  as  Rita  said,  u  for  her  gold 
paying  lodger,  who  was  a  traveled  savant." 

She  made  the  welkin  ring  with  her  merry 
laugh,  as  she  took  the  wrapping  paper  from  a 
dusty  bottle  of  claret. 

"  Oh  !  my  generous  aunty  !  see,  here  is  genu- 
ine Chateau  Lafitte !  I  knew  she  had  it,  but  I 
have  seen  a  bottle  of  it  but  once  on  her  table, 
and  that  was  when  President  Polk  dined  with 
us,  a  good  while  ago.  Poor  aunty !  You  have 
surely  bewitched  her,  Mr.  Felden." 

The  lunch  was  delicious,  and  we  did  it  ample 
justice.  "  See,  Mr.  Felden,  here  is  real  spring 
chicken  broiled  to  a  "  T."  Poor  aunt;  strangely 
inconsistent  aunty.  A  lavish  miser !  a  generous 
lover  of  self!  A  born  epicure." 

We  wandered  among  little  gorges  :  she  was 
happy,  for  she  was  a  joyous  young  girl,  set  free 
in  nature's  haunts.  I  was  happy  because  by  my 
side  was  my  own — my  Heaven  given  mate,  the 
rib  taken  from  my  long  ago  progenitor,  and  now 
given  back  to  me.  Grown  somewhat  tired,  we 
sat  upon  the  grass  covered  root  of  an  upturned 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  257 

tree.  I  said  something,  I  remember  not  what, 
my  companion  started  ;  I  noticed  and  adverted  to 
to  it. 

"  Mr.  Felden,  do  you  know  you  frequently 
startle  me.  I  seem  to  hear  in  your  voice  a  tone 
I  have  heard  before,  or  have  listened  to  in  my 
dreams."  I  felt  the  hour  had  come. 

"  Miss  Rita.  I  owe  to  you  a  confession.  I  am 
not  what  I  am."  I  spoke  with  all  the  pathos 
practice  among  wild  and  dangerous  people  had 
made  me  master  of. 

"  Listen  to  me,  Rita,  pardon  my  familiarity: 
but  you  will  forgive  me  when  I  have  finished." 

I  rapidily  gave  her  the  story  of  my  life,  and 
dwelt  upon  the  meeting  with  her  sister  at  the 
flower  show,  and  the  hold  it  took  upon  me. 
Again  she  started,  and  was  about  to  speak,  when 
with  a  motion,  I  stilled  her  tongue.  I  spoke 
of  my  long  wanderings,  and  then  of  my  seeing 
her  at  the  Burnett  and  thinking  her  the  lady  of 
the  flower  show. 

I  told  her  of  my  visit  to  Boston.  The  color 
left  her  face,  and  she  faltered  out — "  I  knew  it — 
I  see  it  now,  you  are  Mr.  Ford,"  and  crimsoned 
from  neck  to  the  roots  of  her  glossy  hair. 

"  Yes,  Rita,  I  am  John .  I  am  Jack  Ford; 

and  now  Jack  Felden  tells  you  that  he  loves  you 

—he  worships   you   and  would    make    you   his 

wife  and  would  be  happy, — would  make  you  his 


258  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

wife,  liis  Queen — and  would,  too,  make  you 
happy." 

I  paused  and  grasped  her  hand — she  did  not 
withdraw  it.  For  a  moment  she  was  silent,  and 
then  raising  her  dark  confiding  eyes  to  mine, 
she  said  in  low  tones: 

"  Thank  God,  Jack,  I  have  not  dreamed  and 
prayed  in  vain.  I  will  be  your  wife — I  will  cling 
to  you  through  life,  and  will  rest  by  your  side 
in  death." 

I  drew  her  unresisting  form  to  rny  heart,  I 
kissed  her  lips  in  one  long  kiss,  and  saw,  within 
the  gates  ajar,  the  paradise  awaiting  me. 

We  arose,  and  hand  in  hand,  silent,  but  with 
heart  speaking  to  heart,  walked  slowly  home- 
ward. We  scarcely  spoke.  Speech  was  un- 
necessary. There  was  a  silent  communion  of 
souls,  still,  yet  eloquent.  We  were  one.  We 
were  as  Adam,  when  first  created,  male  and 
female  ;  our  simple  reunion  was  bliss. 

We  are  to  start  together  next  week  for  Bos- 
ton, to  be  married  in  the  presence  of  Minnie. 
Mrs.  Allen  is  glad  to  be  freed  from  the  expense 
of  Rita's  outfit.  She  regrets  that  "  a  great 
traveler,  who  ought  to  be  wiser,  can  tie  himself 
down  to  a  chit  of  a  girl."  I  go  to  Chicago  to- 
morrow to  close  up  my  affairs,  and  to  bring  Jim 
and  his  wife  here.  This  climate  will  suit  them 
better  than  that  of  Chicago.  We  will  halt  in 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY,  259 

Cincinnati  long  enough  to  see  you,  old  fellow, 
and  when  married  we  will  go  abroad  for  a  year. 

Congratulate  me,  dear  Jamison,  for  I  am  the 
happiest  of  men.  Yours,  never  again  to  perpet- 
uate a  folly.  JACK. 

I,  too,  was  happy,  for  I  loved  Felden  as  I  had 
loved  no  one  since  my  wife  and  little  ones  went 
to  Heaven. 

Imagine  my  astonishment,  my  terror,  when 
some  weeks  later,  I  received  a  short  letter  mailed 
at  St.  Louis. 

"  Dear  Jamison,  my  true  and  honest  friend: 

"Forget  me  forever!  Do  not  try  to  look  me 
up  ;  never  inquire  for  me  ;  never  again  mention 
my  name.  Henceforth  I  am  dead  to  the  world. 

Your  friend,  JACK." 

I  did  not  try  to  understand  these  terrible  lines. 
I  honored  my  friend  and  felt  sure  he  had  good 
reasons  for  his  request.  I  complied  with  his 
demands,  except  one,  I  could  not  forget. 


CHAPTER  V. 

Years  passed  by,  but  brought  no  tidings  from 
Jack  Felden.  I  made  no  inquiries  for  him;  his 
last  request  came  to  me  as  from  the  grave  and 
was  sacred.  Had  we  met  on  the  street,  I  would 
have  passed  him  unheeded,  unless  the  first  ad- 
vance had  come  from  him. 

I  said  no  tidings  came  from  him ;  that  is,  no 
direct  or  positive  tidings. 

On  the  first  of  May  following  his  letter,  a  case 
of  Chateau  Lafitte,  a  jasmine  turkish  pipe  and 
six  sealed  cans  of  Ladikiyeh  tobacco  came  to  my 
room.  Tacked  to  the  box  was  an  envelope  con- 
taining this  message:  "  On  the  first  day  of  May 
and  November  of  every  year,  drink  to  the  health 
of  a  lost  friend  who  loved  you.  May  the  cares 
of  life  lift  from  your  heart  as  lightly  as  the 
smoke  curls  from  your  chibouque."  Regularly 
after  that,  on  November  ist  and  May  ist,  a  case 
of  finest  claret  and  a  half  dozen  cans  of  Turkish 
tobacco  sent  from  a  great  wine  house  in  New 
York,  was  placed  in  my  room  by  an  'express 
messenger,  and  never  after  that  did  I  fail  to  drink 
in  silence  to  my  friend.  Whoever  sent  the  wine 
and  tobacco  evidently  kept  note  of  my  life,  for 
my  residence  was  changed  three  times,  once  to  a 
distant  city ;  the  messenger  found  me  wherever 
I  was  domiciled. 

260 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  261 

Not  long  after  Felden's  disappearance,  the 
troubles  which  had  been  brewing  between  the 
North  and  the  South  broke  out  into  open  war. 
Our  house  was  among  the  first  to  close  its  busi- 
ness as  it  was  wholly  dependent  on  Southern 
trade.  We  paid  up  every  dollar  we  owed  and 
both  heads  of  the  firm  retired  to  the  country. 
Service  was  offered  me  under  another  firm,  but 
as  I  had  become  a  part  of  the  machinery  of  the 
old  house,  I.  felt  such  a  change  would  prove  un- 
congenial. 

I  volunteered  in  answer  to  Mr.  Lincoln's  first 
call  for  troops  and  was  sent  into  camp  in  Ken- 
tucky. In  a  month  I  was  sick  and  ordered  dis- 
charged by  the  surgeon.  A  complaint,  hitherto 
unknown  to  me,  forbade  active  and  hard  work, 
but  the  consolation  was  offered  me  that  with 
light,  healthful  exercise,  generous  food  and 
abstinence  from  any  nervous  strain,  I  might  live 
to  old  age.  I  was  given  a  clerkship  in  the  com- 
missary department,  and  in  '62  was  transferred 
to  Washington  city.  When  the  war  was  over  I 
was  retained  in  my  position.  Close  confinement 
affected  my  health. 

One  of  my  pleasantest  memories  was  of  a 
summer  spent  in  fishing  and  boating  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Mackinaw.  Something  im- 
pelled me  to  renew  my  old  friendship  with  the 
well-remembered  scenes.  After  a  brief  stay  on 


262  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

the  island  I  became  a  denizen  of  a  lumber  camp 
located  a  few  miles  from  the  rock  which  brought 
me  to  your  acquaintance.  Alone  in  a  light  row- 
boat  which  I  had  purchased  at  Buffalo  on  my 
way  up  the  lakes,  a  large  part  of  each  day  was 
spent  on  the  water. 

One  bright  day  I  anchored  my  boat  near  the 
u  Rock  "  I  mentioned  to  you,  on  the  boat  coin- 
ing from  the  Soo,  and  wandered  in  the  woods 
stretching  behind  it.  The  forest  was  of  small 
trees,  with  here  and  there  an  old  timer  spared  by 
the  loggers.  Every  thing  about  me  was  wild, 
and  excepting  stumps  and  upper  members  of 
trees  from  which  saw-logs  had  been  removed, 
there  was  nothing  to  indicate  fellowship  with 
men.  Emerging  from  a  small  ravine  I  came 
upon  an  opening  in  the  wood  on  the  edge  of 
which  was  a  cluster  of  three  tents,  one  appar- 
ently for  the  occupancy  of  a  luxurious  owner  ;  a 
plainer  one  for  servant  or  servants  and  a  third 
for  a  kitchen  with  a  stove  pipe  projecting  through 
its  apex.  In  front  of  the  principal  tent  was  a  soi  t 
of  porch  or  shed  covered  with  light  boards  to 
keep  out  the  rain,  and  over-topped  with  boughs 
giving  it  a  sylvan  character. 

•  I  walked  toward  the  tent  when  a  huge  old 
mastiff,  fat  and  unwieldly,  sprang  toward  me 
with  a  bark  and  growl  which  brought  me  to  a 
sudden  halt.  The  beast  rushed  toward  me 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  263 

angrily,  but  all  at  once  paused  and  smelt  about 
me  with  his  bristles  erect.  These,  however 
soon  smoothed  down  and  the  dog  whined  as  if  I 
was  not  unknown  to  him.  A  gentleman  and 
lady  stepped  from  the  large  tent.  Imagine  my 
intense  surprise  when  I  recognized  before  me 
the  stately  form  of  Jack  Felden.  I  repressed  all 
evidences  of  recognition  and  with  a  bow  and  low 
apology  was  about  to  turn  away,  when  Jack  in 
his  old  cheery  tone,  cried  out : 

"  Don't  go,  Paul,  chance  has  brought  you  to 
me ;  why  old  Akbar  recognized  you  and  wishes 
you  to  stop ;  come  back ! "  His  words  were 
kindly  and  his  tone  almost  loving.  I  ran  to  him 
and  for  a  moment  our  arms  were  about  each  others 
shoulders  and  our  eyes  were  moistened  by  tears. 
The  lady  came  forward,  saying: 

"  It  is  Mr.  Jamison,  Jack,  is  it  not?  But  I 
need  not  ask,  for  no  man,  but  you  Mr.  Jamison, 
would  be  thus  met  by  my  husband." 

We  were  soon  seated  before  that  tent  in  that 
sweet  intercourse  which  arises  only  between  gen- 
uine friends.  It  was  difficult  to  realize  that 
years  had  elapsed  since  I  had  last  seen  Jack.  He 
was  the  same  open  hearted,  genial  and  dignified 
man.  Shortly  afterward,  the  dog  got  up  lazily, 
and  trotting  toward  the  little  ravine,  met  a  gray 
bearded  negro — the  Jim  Madison  who  so  dis- 
turbed me  on  the  Licking  river.  His  pleasure 


264  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

at  seeing  me  seated  with  Felden  and  his  wife, 
seemed  unbounded.  When  I  repeated  to  him 
what  I  had  told  his  master  of  my  location  in  the 
logging  camp,  he  said,  in  atone  that  showed  the 
thing  was  a  matter  of  course : 

"  Well!  Mars  Jack,  I'll  jes'  take  de  boat  an'  go 
to  de  camp  an'  fotch  Mr.  Jamison's  things  over." 

Jack  laughed,  "  Yes,  Jim,  your  hospitality  has 
only  run  ahead  of  mine.  Jamison  must  come 
and  make  his  home  with  us  in  '  Big  Rock  Camp.'  " 

Before  night  I  was  in  possession  of  Jim's  tent 
and  he  had  fixed  his  cot  in  a  corner  of  the 
kitchen.  We  spent  the  next  few  days  fishing, 
walking  and  talking.  The  late  afternoons  and 
evenings  were  delightful.  Jack  sang  gloriously 
to  the  guitar,  and  his  wife  could  discourse 
charming  music  from  that  most  inharmious  of 
instruments,  the  banjo.  She  had  a  rich  con- 
tralto voice  and  sang  with  what  is  higher  than 
all  art — exquisite  tenderness  and  deep  feeling. 

Jack  was  usually  as  gay  as  I  had  ever  known 
him,  but  occasionally  his  face  had  a  tinge  of  in- 
tense sadness,  which  he  evidently  struggled  to 
suppress.  This  expression  was  never  shown  in 
his  wife's  sight.  With  her  he  was  a  rolicking, 
joyous  man,  and  every  act  and  word  showed  him 
a  loving,  an  idolatrous  husband.  But  when  her 
back  was  turned  he  occasionally  regarded  her 
with  a  look  of  such  pain  that  my  heart  went  out 
toward  him  and  ached  for  him. 


THE   OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  265 

About  a  week  after  my  arrival  Jack  and  I  were 
fishing  at  some  distance  from  the  camp,  our  low 
conversation  had  flagged,  when  he  suddenly  said  : 
"  Mr.  Jamison,  you  must  have  thought  me  a 
brute  all  of  these  years." 

I  quickly  responded,  "  No,  Jack!  I  never 
doubted  you  had  good  reasons  for  your  silence, 
and  nothing  would  have  tempted  me  here  had  I 
dreamed  I  would  meet  you." 

"  I  am  so  glad  you  came  !  I  have  wanted  to 
see  you  more  than  you  can  think."  His  voice 
was  exquisitely  modulated  while  saying  this. 

u  I  wish  now  to  tell  you  every  thing.  Rita 
wishes  me  to  do  so.  Your  great  discretion  will 
teach  you  how  far  you  must  hereafter  be  reticent 
in  her  presence.  The  one  great  object  of  my 
life  is  to  save  her  pain — to  make  her  happy." 

"  When  I  wrote  you  my  long  letter  I  was 
about  to  be  married  and  was  to  call  to  see  you 
on  our  way  to  Boston;  am  I  not  right?"  I 
nodded. 

"  Well,  in  a  week  Rita  received  a  letter  from 
her  sister  saying  she  was  not  well,  and  suggest- 
ing that  it  would  be  better  we  should  be  married 
in  Tennessee.  This  letter  altered  our  plans.  A 
few  days  later  a  dispatch  came  from  Wilton, 
telling  us,  that  poor  Minnie  had  died  suddenly, 
she  and  her  baby  at  the  same  time.  Mrs.  Allen 
was  a  great  stickler  for  what  she  called  the  pro- 


266  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

prieties  of  life,  and  though  she  had  not  in  her 
heart  a  spark  of  affection  for  her  nieces,  she  in- 
sisted our  marriage  should  be  postponed  for  at 
least  three  months. 

Rita  had  been  in  her  care  since  childhood  ;  it 
is  true  the  care  was  of  no  gentle  kind,  but  she 
was  grateful  and  did  not  wish  to  displease  her 
Aunt.  I  went  to  Chicago  to  get  my  affairs  into 
shape.  Before  the  time  I  was  to  have  returned, 
my  darling  wrote  me  that  her  shrewd  worldly- 
wise  Aunt  had  become  suddenly  alarmed  by  the 
shape  political  matters  were  rapidly  taking  ;  had 
determined  to  convert  all  she  owned  into  money 
and  to  go  to  her  relatives  in  England  for  the 
remainder  of  her  days.  The  dear  girl  begged 
me  to  come  to  her  as  soon  as  possible.  Her  wish 
was  my  law.  I  started  the  next  day  ;  for  I  had 
acquired  the  habit  of  being  always  ready  for  a 
change  of  base. 

Reaching I  found  the  shrewish  old  wo- 
man up  to  her  eyes  in  affairs.  I  lent  her  all  the 
assistance  possible,  and  in  one  month  she  was 
ready  for  her  departure.  With  her  and  another 
for  witnesses,  Rita  and  I  were  made  one.  She 
dowered  her  niece  with  five  thousand  dollars, 
kissing  her  most  decorously  on  the  forehead.  In 
a  half  hour  after  the  ceremony  she  started  north, 
and  we  west.  Her  last  words  were,  "Adieu ! 
Don't  write  to  me.  If  I  ever  care  to  hear  from 


THE   OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  267 

you  I  will  write."  She  thus  passed  out  of  our 
lives  and  we  know  not  whether  she  be  alive  or 
dead. 

My  bride  and  I  went  to  Memphis  and  thence 
to  St.  Louis.  We  were  absolutely  happy.  The 
world  was  bright  and  rosy  to  us  both.  My  wife 
was,  as  fully  as  I,  imbued  with  the  belief  that 
we  were  mated,  dovetailed  together ;  were  as 
thorough^  one  as  Adam  or  Shiva  were  one,  be- 
fore Eve  or  Parvati  were  taken  from  them. 

Possessed  as  we  were  of  perfect  health,  physi- 
cally we  might  have  been  models  to  an  artist  for 
robust,  untainted  manhood  and  womanhood. 
Not  a  cloud  flecked  our  sky — not  a  shadow,  we 
thought,  could  possibly  lurk  beneath  the  hori- 
zon. At  St.  Louis,  the  day  after  our  arrival,  we 
had  been  out  for  a  walk  and  on  returning  I  went 
to  the  hotel  reading  room,  while  Rita  gaily 
tripped  up  stairs  toward  our  room,  kissing  her 
hand  to  me  from  the  upper  landing.  I  picked 
up  a  paper,  chance-dropped  by  some  traveller, 
published  in  the  town  near  my  home  ;  the  same 
which  Jim  had  brought  me  with  the  announce- 
ment of  Belle's  marriage.  Almost  the  first 
thing  I  saw  was  an  editorial  statement  that  "  the 

marriage  between  the  beautiful  Mrs.  Belle 

and  the  Marquis  of in  Rome  had  been 

positively  and  permanently  abandoned."  My 
eyes  were  riveted  to  the  horrible  column.  It 


268  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

continued  :      l  The  proud  uncrowned    Queen  of 

discovered  before  it  was  too  late,  the  titled 

groom  desired  the  gems  and  gold  in  the  bride's 
strong  box,  far  more  than  the  jewels  and  pure 
metal  so  eifulgently  shining  in  her  form  and 
rich  in  her  character,  etc.,  etc."  I  was  stunned — 
my  blood  stood  still  in  my  heart.  I  leaned  over 
upon  a  table  and  was  blind  from  intense  agony. 
I  thought  of  my  own  misery,  but  Great  God ! 
what  would  become  of  my  poor  wife  !  My  limbs 
seemed  powerless  ;  I  did  not  move  until  a  light 
hand  rested  upon  my  head. 

My  wife  had  come  down  to  find  me.  u  Oh, 
darling,  what  is  it,  what  is  it?1'  I  took  her 
hand  and  slowly  .staggered  to  our  room.  I  knelt 
at  her  feet.  I  prayed  her  to  forgive  me.  I  hid 
my  face  in  her  lap  and  sobbed  as  a  broken 
hearted  child.  She  smoothed  my  hair  and  for 
some  minutes  with  sweetest  of  all  sympathy  let 
my  grief  flow.  Then  she  lifted  my  head. 
"  Tell  me  what  it  is,  my  husband." 
I  looked  into  her  dear  pale  face  and  cried,  "  I 
cannot — I  cannot  break  your  heart,  my  poor 
wife." 

"  Break   my   heart,    darling !      It   can    never 
break  while  it  has  yours  to  dwell  in." 
"  But,"  I  gasped,  u  we  must  part." 
"  Part !    part !     Oh,   God!     Jack  !    what  is  it 
you  say?  part!   no,  no!     Never,  never!"     She 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  269 

was  as  colorless  as  the  lace  about  her  neck.  I 
then  told  her  all. 

When  I  had  finished,  she  laid  her  arm  around 
my  neck,  drew  my  cheek  to  hers,  and  said  in  a 
firm,  brave  voice,  "  No,  Jack,  my  darling,  we 
will  not  part.  I  am  your  wife,  wedded  in  Hea- 
ven. God  was  witness  to  our  betrothal  under 
the  open  sky.  God  was  sponsor  to  our  marriage. 
We  are  man  and  wife  and  no  man  or  woman  can 
ever  separate  us.  I  am  your  Eve  darling  and 
with  you  would  live  in  Eden,  but  if  driven  out, 
I  will  be  by  your  side  and  wherever  we  go,  there 
will  be  my  paradise.  You  have  not  offended  the 
law.  You  thought  yourself  free  and  no  one  can 
blame  you." 

I  pressed  her  to  my  heart  and  cried,  "  My 
Rita,  my  noble  Rita  !  " 

u  No,  110  !  Jack,  I  am  your  Rita,  but  not  your 
noble  Rita.  I  am  simply  a  woman  ;  I  am  your 
wife  and  do  no  more  or  no  less  than  any  loving 
woman  should  do." 

We  resolved  to  go  to  Chicago,  to  live  in  seclu- 
sion while  I  should  do  all  I  could  to  increase  my 
fortune,  and  then  we  would  go  off  to  some  far  off 
land,  where  there  could  be  no  possibility  of  hav- 
ing scandal's  finger  pointed  at  us.  I  then  wrote 
you  to  forget  me. 

I  again  became  Jack  Felden,  and  my  wife 
learned  to  like  uiy  olive  hue  and  my  dark  hair 


270  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

better  than  my  natural  complexion.  Chicago 
became  our  home.  I  courted  fortune  on  change. 
For  a  while  I  was  but  indifferently  successful. 
One  year  on  almost  the  last  day  of  August,  Jim 
hurriedly  entered  my  office  saying: 

"  Mars  Jack,  your  time  is  come.  My  ole 
ankles  tells  me  thar  will  be  a  killing  frost  dis 
night;  the  corn  will  be  cotched.  I  knows  what 
I  tells  you.  I  run  all  way  down  town  to  tell  you. 
Go  out  now,  dis  very  minit,  an'  buy  all  de 
corn  you  can  carry  ;  put  your  las'  dollar  up  and 
make  a  fortune.  You'll  win,  Mars  Jack  ;  if  you 
fails,  you  kin  sell  me  for  a  ole  grinnin  possum." 

The  honest  face  of  my  old  friend  was  ashy 
from  excitement.  With  one  word — "  Jim  I'll  do 
it,"  I  went  on  the  board  and  before  night  nearly 
every  dollar  I  owned  on  earth  was  up  in  margins 
on  corn.  That  night  there  was  a  frost,  corn 
went  up  several  cents ;  this  gave  me  additional 
margins,  and  I  risked  all.  One  month  later  I 
had  cleared  a  handsome  fortune. 

The  next  year  Rita  and  I  went  abroad  to  re- 
main for  two  years.  A  boy  was  born  to  us  in 
Egypt.  We  wanted  Jim  and' Dinah  to  see  him. 
For  though  they  were  our  servants,  we  loved 
them  as  our  best  friends.  I  knew  how  Dinah 
would  yearn  to  hold  little  Jack  on  her  bosom ;  to 
live  over  in  her  deep  loving  fancy  the  days  when 
her  baby  John  drew  his  life  from  her  breast. 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  271 

She  had  prayed  that  Miss  Rita  would  let  her 
nuss  Mars  John's  Baby.  She  never  saw  him.  In 
London  he  was  exhaled  as  a  dew  drop.  It  was 
a  sad  blow ;  but  my  wife  did  not  grieve  as  I 
feared  she  would. 

She  said  "  it  is  best  Jack.  He  would  have  been 
nameless  in  the  eyes  of  the  law.  We  will  live 
for  each  other.'7  It  would  have  been  better  had 
she  shed  more  tears  ;  for  there  are  times  when 
her  very  fortitude  alarms  me. 

We  returned  to  Chicago.  Rita  was  quietly 
happy  in  her  little  secluded  home.  I  am  always 
happy,  when  her  face  is  unclouded. 

My  disguise  as  Jack  Felden  precludes  any 
ambition  either  social  or  otherwise.  Our  little 
family  lives  for  each  other,  and  is  perfectly 
satisfied  to  know  only  a  few  necessary  acquaint- 
ances. We  go  to  theatres  and  concerts  and  keep 
ourselves  abreast  of  progress  and  of  life.  We 
are  school  teachers,  Jim  being  our  pupil.  His 
life  is  inwoven  with  ours.  We  are  both  fond  of 
books.  People  we  often  meet  at  places  of  amuse- 
ment and  on  our  drives  look  at  us  inquiringly, 
and  occasionally  some  have  tried  to  break  into 
our  seclusion.  We  have  met  the  kindly  ad- 
vances courteously,  but  continue  to  live  within 
ourselves.  Our  city  being  made  up  of  people 
new  to  each  other,  makes  this  easy. 


272  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

Once  in  New  York  at  the  opera  I  saw  Belle  ; 
she  was  the  admired  occupant  of  a  box.  Her 
opera  glass  was  bent  upon  us  several  times.  I 
think  she  recognized  her  acquaintance  of  the 
New  Orleans  ball-room.  She  was  still  queenly, 
cold,  and  I  could  see  selfishness  had  laid  its  mark 
upon  more  than  one  of  her  perfectly  modeled 
features.  She  was  still  the  proud  rich  widow. 

Rita  looked  at  her  through  her  glass,  and  said 
to  me  "Jack  dear,  look  at  that  magnificent 
blonde ;  she  is  perfect  in  form,  and  her  features 
are  faultless,  but  she  could  never  be  a  follower 
of  the  Buddh ;  she  could  tread  the  life  out  of 
living  beings,  and  care  not  if  she  only  did  not 
soil  her  skirts."  With  that  she  turned  so  as  not 
to  see  her  again.  I  kept  my  counsels.  Belle 
was  not  again  referred  to. 

Last  spring  Rita  lost  a  little  girl  at  its  birth; 
she  did  not  recuperate.  The  Doctor  advised  a 
tent  life  for  the  summer.  Dinah  was  not  well 
enough  to  accompany  us.  If  Rita  be  not  fully 
recovered  by  the  middle  of  autumn,  we  will  go 
to  the  upper  Nile.  I  have  an  idea  its  climate 
must  prove  beneficial  to  her. 

As  I  said,  we  keep  to  ourselves ;  at  first,  feeling 
it  necessary  because  we  were  over  a  social  vol- 
cano, but  lately  from  choice.  I  cannot  help 
thinking  that  Belle  will  some  day  grow  weary 
of  her  widowed  life  and  will  make  me  free ;  she 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  273 

can  get  a  decree  of  divorce,  I  cannot.  I  would 
not  commit  a  fraud  to  win  one,  and  she  would 
not  permit  me  to  obtain  it  otherwise.  Now 
Jamison,  you  know  why  I  have  so  long  neglected 
you." 

"  Yes,  Jack,  I  not  only  know,  but  fully  ap- 
preciate your  feelings,  and  though  I  try  to  be  a 
religious  man,  I  cannot  blame  you  for  your 
course."  With  that  he  pressed  my  hand  in 
warm  and  grateful  affection." 

Felden  seemed  to  have  told  all  he  wished  to 
tell  at  that  time.  That  there  was  something 
still  untold,  I  suspected. 


CHAPTER  VI. 

That  night,  never  to  be  forgotten  by  me,  we 
were  kept  entirely  within  doors,  by  a  deluging 
rain.  The  winds  shrieked  through  the  groan- 
ing trees.  The  thunder  rolled  in  constant  and 
awe  inspiring  reverberations.  The  lightning 
kept  the  tent  in  a  continuous  blaze.  Thoroughly 
protected,  we  were  silenced  by  the  awful  voice  of 
the  tempest.  A  storm  is  never  so  grand  as  to 
the  occupants  of  a  tent  in  a  wild  forest,  one 
seems  then  so  close  to  Him  who  rides  the  winds 
and  speaks  in  the  roar  of  the  thunder. 

Just  as  nature  seemed  wearied  of  the  intense 
exertion,  the  old  mastiff  sprang  up  with  a  growl 
and  rushed  toward  the  tightly  closed  tent  door. 

The  curtain  was  drawn  aside,  when  he  sprang 
out  into  the  night,  and  was  soon  in  pursuit  of 
some  wild  animal,  evidently  of  considerable  size, 
for  we  heard  its  flying  tread  in  the  darkness. 
When  the  storm  abated,  Jim  reported  that  a 
fine  mess  of  bass  we  had  caught  just  before  dark 
had  been  stolen.  Mrs.  Felden  expressed  regret, 
for  several  of  the  fish  had  been  taken  by  her. 
Jack  laughingly  offered  to  go  down  to  the  Rock 
at  day  break,  and  bring  back  a  mess  in  time  for 
breakfast  at  seven. 

When  I  awoke,  the  next  morning  the  sun 
was  quite  high  in  the  heavens.  Mrs.  Felden 

274 


THE  OLD  MAN'S  STORY.  275 

and  Jim  were  already  out,  and  evinced  some  im- 
patience, because  Jack  had  not  returned  with  the 
promised  breakfast.  When  seven  o'clock  came, 
the  wife  sent  the  old  man  to  call  her  husband 
home,  fish  or  no  fish. 

"Tell  him,"  said  she,  uthat  the  storm  has 
made  us  ravenous." 

When  Jim  also  failed  to  return  in  due  time, 
Mrs.  Felden  became  alarmed  and  asked  me  to 
follow  him.  I  set  out,  and  although  the  ground 
was  sopping  wet,  she  joined  me,  in  spite  of  my 
gentle  remonstrances.  We  soon  met  Jim  hurry- 
ing towards  us.  His  face  was  of  an  ashen  hue. 

"Where  is  Jack,  Jim — Oh  where  is  my  hus- 
band?" shrieked  the  mistress,  as  she  rushed  past 
the  negro  toward  the  water. 

The  man  caught  her  arm,  "Stop  Miss  Rita, 
stop  Miss  Rita,  fer  de  Lord  sake  stop.  I'll  tell 
you,  Miss  Rita,  please  stop." 

She  tried  to  tear  herself  from  his  grasp.  "Oh 
my  God,  he's  dead — my  husband  is  dead.  Tell 
me — Jim,  where  is  my  husband?" 

The  negro  forced  her  down  on  a  boulder,  and 
catching  her  hand  covered  it  with  tears  and 
kisses.  "Miss  Rita,  my  dear  Misses,  be  good 
an'  I'll  tell  you  all."  She  attempted  in  vain  to 
arise,  for  a  powerful  arm  held  her  firmly,  but 
gently  back. 


276  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

I  sat  by  her  side,  and  lay  my  hand  soothingly 
on  her  shoulder,  saying — "Tell  her,  Jim,  she  is 
a  brave  woman  and  can  bear  the  Lord's  will. 
Tell  her  all." 

The  negro's  face  showed  oniy  too  plainly  that 
her  worst  fears  were  true.  "Miss  Rita — I'll  tell 
you  all.  Be  a  good  chile  Miss  Rita;  jess  be 
Mars  Jack's  wife,  Miss  Rita,  an'  I'll  keep  nothin' 
back." 

"I  will  Jim — tell  me  the  worst;"  she  uttered 
between  choking  sobs. 

In  a  voice  of  intense  grief -and  solemnity,  Jim 
then  said,  "Be  a  good  chile,  Miss  Rita;  be  de  wife 
of  de  grandes'  man  what  ever  lived;  Jim  Madi- 
son never  tole  his  marster  an'  mistis  a  lie.  God 
is  good,  Miss  Rita;  his  ways  is  unscrubable;  he 
knows  whats  bes',  for  his  chilluiis.  He  wanted 
Mars  Jack  hisself ;  he  done  took  him  to  his  side. 
Mars  Jack's  drownded." 

A  wild  shriek  rang  through  the  woods — a 
shriek  of  agony  which  caused  the  blood  to  run 
cold  in  my  veins.  The  bereaved  wroman  stared 
into  vacancy,  as  though  seeking  her  husband's 
form.  She  arose  from  her  seat  almost  rigid,  and 
without  a  word,  fell  in  a  dead  swoon  at  our  feet. 
So  still  did  she  lie  and  so  long,  that  I  feared  she 
had  passed  away. 

After  a  quarter  of  an  hour,  as  it  seemed  to  us, 
Mrs.  Felden  recovered  a  semi-consciousness — 


THE   OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  277 

staring  first  at  one  of  us  and  then  at  the  other 
with  piteously  questioning  eyes.  When  the 
horrible  reality  again  dawned  upon  her  awaken- 
ing mind,  the  forest  was  filled  with  heart  rend- 
ing cries,  silence  only  coming  when  she  once 
more  fainted  away.  I  chafed  her  hands  while  Jim 
ran  to  the  tents  for  camphor  and  brandy.  We 
bathed  her  face  and  neck;  fanned  her;  poured 
brandy  between  her  parted  lips — did  all  that 
suggested  itself  to  our  terrified  minds.  The 
swoon  lasted  so  long  that  we  had  almost  aban- 
doned hope,  when  she  breathed  and  opened  her 
eyes — they  were  vacant. 

She  wept  no  more,  but  in  low  sweet  tones 
murmured  "Jack  darling,  don't  be  lonesome;  I 
will  come  to  you!  Yes,  Jack,  I'll  come." 

These  were  repeated  again  and  again,  as  we 
bore  her  to  the  tents  and  laid  her  on  her  bed. 
She  immediately  fell  into  a  sleep  lasting  for 
hours,  and  only  interrupted  by  sobs  and  moans. 
I  watched  by  her  bedside  while  Jim  went  off 
saying  he  had  work  on  hand  which  must  be 
done  at  once.  When  the  poor  lady  awoke  and 
looked  into  my  face,  I  thanked  the  Giver  of  all, 
that  she  was  herself  again  in  mind,  though  her 
strength  seemed  quite  broken. 

Upon  Jim's  return  she  said  in  tones  so  calm, 
so  gentle  and  so  full  of  deep  suffering,  that  they 


278  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

pained  me  almost  as  much  as  had  her  more  ac- 
tive grief  : 

"Sit  down  Jim  and  tell  me  all  about  it.  You 
said  you  would  tell  me  all.  You  see  I  am  calm. 
You  see  I  can  bear  anything — everything 
bravely." 

He  replied  in  his  simple  caressing  manner, 
"not  ter  day,  my  chile,  you  jes  eat  an'  sleep  an' 
git  strong;  ter  morrer  I'll  tell  you  everything. 
You'se  weak  now,  Miss  Rita, — wait  till  ter 


morrer." 


"I  will  Jim."  She  hardly  spoke  again  during 
the  day  or  following  night. 

When  he  brought  her  supper,  she  tried  like 
an  obedient  child  to  eat  all  he  urged  upon  her, 
saying  in  answer  to  his  words  of  encouragement, 
"Yes,  Jim;  I  must  eat  and  be  strong.  I  need  all 
my  strength." 

When  at  dark,  she  seemed  to  sink  into  sleep^ 
the  negro  and  I  sat  outside  the  tent  so  that  we 
could  watch  within,  but  far  enough  off  we 
thought,  to  prevent  our  conversation  reaching 
her  ears.  0 

He  then  told  me  that  on  going  to  the  rock  in 
the  morning  he  saw  that  a  large  part  of  it  weigh- 
ing a  ton.  or  more,  had  fallen  since  the  day  before 
into  the  deep  water  at  the  precipice's  base ;  there 
had  beena  thin  crevice  or  fissure  running  through 
the  rock,  in  which  a  few  vines  and  small  bushes 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  279 

had  taken  root.  Into  this  crack  the  heavy  rain 
of  the  night  had  swept,  eating  away  the  last 
puny  tie  which  held  the  two  parts  together. 
Jack's  weight  in  the  morning  was  too  much 
for  it. 

Jim  found  his  rod  floating  at  the  base,  the 
hook  having  caught  on  a  small  bush  growing 
nigh.  About  half  way  down  a  part  of  his  coat 
sleeve  was  hanging  to  a  rough  corner  of  the 
jagged  rock.  As  the  falling  man  went  down  on 
the  broken  mass,  he  had  evidently  clutched  at 
the  projection;  had  wrapped  his  arm  about  it, 
but  had  in  some  way  been  caught  and  forced 
downward  tearing  the  sleeve  from  the  arm. 

Jim  who  was  a  keen  observer,  understood  at 
once  that  his  master  was  down  below  among  the 
ruins  of  the  fallen  mass.  He  threw  off  his 
clothes  and  dived  to  the  bottom.  In  the  second 
dive  he  discovered  what  he  sought.  He  found 
his  master's  body  lying  on  its  back,  held  and 
pinioned  by  a  massive  stone  weighing  tons.  Af- 
ter making  this  discovery,  he  had  returned  to 
meet  us.  But  while  his  mistress  slept  in  the  af- 
ternoon, leaving  me  to  watch  by  her  side,  he  had 
again  visited  the  Rock.  He  wore  heavy  flannels 
to  protect  himself  as  much  as  possible  from  the 
chilly  water. 

He  found  the  body  above  the  knees  was  free. 
He  tried  to  draw  it  out,  only  to  learn  to  his 


280  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

sorrow,  that  it  could  not  be  removed  except  by 
rending  it  from  the  lower  limbs.  The  bottom 
was  of  gravel  so  compacted  as  to  be  nearly  as 
hard  as  stone.  The  dead  man  had  been  caught 
below  the  knees  in  a  recess  or  depression  in  the 
falling  rock.  Jim  expressed  great  joy  that  this 
depression  while  holding  his  master's  limbs  as 
in  a  vise,  had  protected  them  from  being 
crushed. 

"We'll  cut  up  de  wings  of  de  kitchen  tent  an' 
sew  'em  tergedder  three  or  fo'  thick  wid  twine, 
and  spread  'em  over  Mar's  Jack  an'  den  I'll  put 
rocks  on  de  canvas,  an'  down  thar  under  de 
clean  water  it  '11  stay  till  de  blessed  Jesus  calls 
his  chilluns  home." 

I  expressed  great  gratification  that  he  had 
thought  of  this,  and  suggested  that  he  could 
send  for  some  loggers  to  give  us  aid. 

He  quickly  stopped  me.  "  No  !  No  !  Mr.  Jam- 
ison !  Mars  Jack's  been  wearin'  masks  all  dese 
long  years.  He's  been  hidin'  from  men.  No 
man  must'  know  his  las'  restin'  place.  No  man 
but  you  an'  me." 

I  honored  this  tender  solicitude  for  his  master's 
secret  and  at  once  acquiesced,  telling  him  that, 
when  Mrs.  Felden's  condition  would  admit  of 
our  both  leaving  her,  I  would  aid  him  in  his 
pious  endeavors. 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  281 

"  Dat's  right  Mr.  Jamison,  me  an'  you  must 
nuss  dat  darlin'  chile — you  an'  me  an'  her  an' 
Dinah  knows  his  secrut.  You  an'  me  an'  her  an' 
Dinah  mus'  keep  his  secrut  to  our  graves.  If 
eny  body  helps  us  here,  de  officers  and  de  news- 
papers '11  be  sticking  dar  oar  in.  I'd  ruther  see 
you  an'  Miss  Rita  down  dar  along  side  'er  Mars 
Jack,  dan  anybody  should  meddle  in  his  matters." 

He  said  this  in  subdued  tones,  but  there  was 
on  his  face  a  gleam  of  almost  savage  determina- 
tion. 

The  next  day  Mrs.  Felden  was  perfectly  calm ; 
her  mind  apparently  clear,  but  there  was  a  far 
away  expression  in  her  eyes  that  gave  me  un- 
easiness. 

When  Jim  had  removed  the  little  breakfast 
table  from  her  bedside,  she  said,  "  I  am  strong 
to-day,  Jim  ;  see  how  calm  I  am.  I  can  hear  and 
bear  everything,  as  my  husband's  wife  should 
do." 

He  told  her  all  he  had  discovered,  to  the  min- 
utest detail.  He  controlled  his  voice  and  man- 
ner so  as  not  to  show  the  deep  emotion  with 
which  his  loving  heart  was  almost  breaking. 
His  voice  was  low,  sweet,  and  sympathetic. 
Having  finished  his  account,  he  said,  "  Now 
chile,  be  a  brave  good  oman.  'Member  what  a 
great  big  man  Mars  Jack  was,  an'  how  he  loved 
his  wife  mor'n  hisself.  He's  up  thar,  Miss  Rita; 


282  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

his  eyes  is  clar,  for  Jesus  is  by  his  side  and 
makes  him  see  everything ;  he  sees  you  dis 
minit,  an'  knows  you'll  soon  be  beside  'im. 
Don't  let  him  see  you  miserble." 

Mrs.  Felden's  calmness  astonished  me.  She 
listened  in  silence  ;  tears  rolled  down  her  cheeks  ; 
her  breast  heaved  with  low  deep  sighs,  but  there 
was  a  strange  light  in  her  eyes,  which  looked 
afar  off,  and  seemed  to  see  her  husband  as  the 
man  described  him.  When  the  faithful  negro 
had  finished,  he  had  her  hand  in  his.  For  long 
minutes  she  uttered  not  a  word.  Her  spirit  was 
in  that  far  off  land  beyond  the  skies  or  more 
probably  at  the  foot  of  the  rock.  We  watched 
her  in  silence. 

At  last  she  said,  "Jim  is  right,  Mr.  Jamison. 
If  my  husband  could  speak  to  us  now,  he  would 
bid  us  keep  his  secret."  Her  keenly  attmed 
ears  had  evidently  overheard  Jim  when  he  so 
urgently  insisted  that  no  one  should  help  us. 

u  No  one  must  know  what  has  happened — no 
one  but  ourselves ;  we  must  do  all.  I  will  help 
for  I  am  strong  now.  A  few  loggers  have 
passed  our  camp,  if  they  come  again  and  make 
any  inquiries,  they  must  be  made  to  believe  my 
husband  has  gone  away,  and  that  he  is  coming 
back.  No  human  being  must  ever  know  our 
grave  "  she  quickly  added,"  "  where  he  sleeps." 


THE   OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  283 

She  paused,  her  face  brightened  with  unnatu- 
ral light,  and  with  a  voice  of  exquisite  sweetness, 
she  whispered,  "  sleep  well  Jack  !  sleep  well  my 
husband,  your  wife  will  soon  be  with  you." 

Jim  at  once  proceeded  to  his  task.  He  asked 
me  to  row  to  the  nearest  store,  for  some  sea- 
grass  cord,  and  all  the  chains  I  could  buy,  with- 
out arousing  suspicion. 

I  found  no  difficulty  in  completing  my  share 
of  the  preparations.  Jim,  in  the  meanwhile, 
made  two  sheets  eight  to  nine  feet  square, 
and  of  four  thicknesses  of  strong  canvas, 
cutting  up  the  wings  of  the  tents  for  the  pur- 
pose. We  carried  in  the  large  boat,  several 
hundred  weight  of  boulders,  as  heavy  as  we 
could  handle,  to  the  shore  near  where  poor 
Felden  lay.  These  were  to  anchor  down,  for  all 
time  his  last  winding  sheet.  Two  log  chains 
were  fastened  securely  around  the  edges  of  the 
canvas  sheets ;  a  mass  of  strong  boughs  were 
made  ready  for  anchoring  over  and  around  the 
watery  grave,  so  that  accretions  of  sand  and 
gravel  collected  and  held  by  them,  would  guard 
Jack's  body  securely  and  well. 


CHAPTER  VII. 

We  determined  that  as  soon  as  these  last  ser- 
vices to  the  dead  should  be  concluded,  we  would 
at  once  strike  the  camp  and  return  to  Chicago. 
When  the  labors  required  the  strength  of  both 
Jim  and  myself,  Mrs.  Felden  accompanied  us. 
I  was  unwilling  to  leave  her  alone.  Her  calm- 
ness rather  alarmed  than  assured  me.  It  was 
the  calmness,  not  of  resignation,  but  of  despair. 
When  all  was  as  I  thought,  in  readiness,  Jim 
asked  me  to  get  several  bags  of  shot;  I  remem- 
bered afterwards,  he  did  not  state  for  what  pur- 
pose they  were  needed. 

On  my  return  before  night,  I  noticed  him  and 
his  mistress  talking  apart  from  me  more  than 
usual.  She  had,  too,  strangely  altered.  Instead 
of  the  look  of  agonized  calmness  worn  by  her 
face  for  the  past  few  days,  her  appearance  was 
almost  cheerful.  I  could  not  help  wondering, 
if  after  all  this  woman,  apparently  so  passionate 
and  intense,  was  of  the  shallow  ones  of  her  sex. 
She  seemed  to  enjoy  her  dinner  which  was  late, 
and  ate  more  heartily  than  I  had  known  her 
ever  to  eat  before. 

She  retired  early.  Jim  and  I  sat  up  rather 
late  ;  he  seemed  loth  for  me  to  go  to  bed.  When 
he  retired,  I  lay  awake  for  hours  pondering  over 

284 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  285 

the    change  in    Mrs.  Felden.     Wearied  at  last, 
a  profound  slumber  overcame  me. 

I  awoke  in  the  morning  to  see  the  sun  already 
several  hours  high.  Jim  was  engaged  in  setting 
breakfast.  I  took  a  short  walk.  He  soon  blew 
the  whistle — it  was  the  call  to  meals.  Mrs. 
Felden  did  not  come  out  of  her  tent.  There 
was  only  one  plate  on  the  table.  To  my  enquir- 
ies, if  she  were  not  coming,  he  simply  answered 
that  I  would  eat  alone.  I  had  slept  so  well 
during  the  night  that  my  appetite  was  good,  and 
I  did  full  justice  to  the  meal.  In  answer  to  my 
question  whether  Mrs.  Felden  would  not  like 
something,  the  negro  seated  himself  before  me, 
the  first  time  I  had  ever  known  him  to  do  so  of 
his  own  volition,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Jamison,  Miss 
Rita  '11  eat  no  more.  She  lies  by  Mars  Jack  in 
the  deep  water.  Her  soul  is  wid  his  at  de  foot 
of  de  Throne  of  Grace ;  de  blessed  Jesus  I  be- 
lieve has  brushed  away  her  las'  sin,  if  it  wur  a 
sin — de  las'  and  almos'  only  one  she  ever  done." 

The  truth  flashed  across  my  mind  at  once.  I 
sprang  to  my  feet,  and  in  angry  horrified  tones 
demanded — "Jim,  has  Mrs.  Felden  drowned  her- 
self, and  you  have  done  nothing  to  prevent  her 
mad  act  ?" 

"  Yes,  Mr.  Jamison,  Miss  Rita  my  mistress, 
who  I  loved  nex'  to  my  niaister,  is  gone  ter  God, 
an'  I  seen  her  go,  an'  ain't  lifted  a  finger  or  said 


286  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

a  word  fer  ter  stop  'er  an'  more'ii  that  I  helpt 
her. 

"  Jiin  Madison,  yon  are  a  murderer !  "  I  cried 
in  anger.  The  negro  arose.  His  eyes  dilated 
and  his  form  seemed  to  expand.  His  demeanor 
lost  every  vestige  of  the  servant.  He  stood  be- 
fore me  a  man,  black,  but  of  over-powering  dig- 
nity. His  face  was  stern,  but  not  angry.  From 
his  six  feet,  he  seemed  to  look  down  upon  me  ; 
he  spoke  to  me  ungrammatically,  but  in  words 
almost  free  from  negroism,  save  in  the  intonation 
of  his  voice.  He  was  my  equal,  and  seemed  to 
feel  himself  my  superior.  The  servant  had  de- 
parted, and  in  his  place  was  a  man, — a  man 
whose  every  look  and  gesture  bespoke  virile 
power  and  self-confidence. 

"  Mr.  Jamison,  your  words  an'  indignation 
ain't  uncalled  for.  In  your  eyes  I  am  a  aider  in 
murder.  In  my  eyes  what  I  done  wus  right. 
You  try  to  be  a  Christian  gentleman,  Mr.  Jami- 
son, an'  I  ain't  ever  seen  a  single  act  to  make 
me  doubt  your  goodness.  I've  professed  Christ, 
and  I  want  to  walk  in  the  paths  He  laid  for  me, 
an'  as  far  as  a  sinful  man  can,  to  be  a  follower 
of  Jesus.  If  the  Saviour  '11  forgive  my  old  sins, 
I  ain't  got  no  fear  he  will  hole  me  to  account  for 
what  I  done,  an'  seen  done  to-day. 

"Mr.  Felden  told  me  the  day  before  he  died, 
that  you  knowed  everything  about  him  but  one 


THE   OLD    MAN'S   STORY.  287 

fact.  If  the  Lord  could  'er  spared  him  he'd  'er 
told  you  all. 

"  The  las'  day  he  lived  he  couldn't  help  feelin' 
that  some  great  misfortune  was  comin'.  He  told 
me  that  if  anythin'  happened  to  him  to  get  you 
to  be  a  frien'  to  his  wife ;  if  anything  happened 
to  'em  both,  that  you  an'  me  was  to  be  friens  in 
all  things.  He  didn't  tell  you  he  feared  his  wife's 
mind  hung  on  a  hinge,  an'  it  might  be  easy 
broken  ;  that  fear  made  him  so  keerful  of  her. 
He's  been  afeared  ever  since  little  Jack  died  in 
Lunnun,  les'  some  sudden  shock  might  drive  her 
out  her  head.  He  said  if  he  los'  her  he  had 
some  duties  to  perform  for  the  colored  race  which 
gave  him  his  two  trues'  friens,  an'  if  him  an' 
Miss  Rita  both  died  I  was  to  do  it.  If  it  wasn't 
that  I  knowed  I  ought  to  carry  out  his  plans, 
I'd  wish  I  was  by  his  side  at  the  bottom  of  the 
lake. 

"When  Miss  Rita  found  whar  her  husban' 
laid,  she  wanted  to  go  to  his  side.  You  'member 
how  calm  she  got.  It  was  'cause  she  made  up 
her  min'  and  was  at  peace.  She  tole  me  what 
she  wanted.  I  knowed  she'd  carry  it  out.  To 
her  mine  it  wus  right.  Her  mind  you'll  say 
wusn't  balanced.  But  who  can  prove  it  ?  I'd 
er  killed  any  man  who  tried  to  steal  her  liberty, 
and  to  lock  her  up." 


288  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

His  eyes  gleamed  as  if  the  blood  of  his  savage 
African  ancestors  was  surging  in  his  heart.  "She 
asked  me  to  help  'er ;  what  could  I  do  ?  If  I 
refused,  she'd  go  alone.  If  we  used  force  here  to 
prevent  her,  she'd  come  back,  an'  then  she 
couldn't  reach  him  to  clasp  him  in  her  arms  in 
death,  as  she  promised  she'd  do  when  he  told 
her  their  marriage  wasn't  legal.  I  says  to  myself, 
I  can't  prevent  her,  ain't  it  best  for  me  to  help 
her  ?  It  was  self-destruction,  but  my  conscience 
didn't  make  a  single  objection.  When  you  went 
fur  the  shot,  I  helped  her  make  a  canvas  gown, 
which  covered  all  her  body  'cept  her  arms.  The 
shot  you  brought  I  run  in  pockets  all  about  the 
dress,  I  rowed  her  to  the  rock  in  the  canoe.  I 
held  the  boat  to  the  right  place. 

"  Just  before  she  dropt  out,  she  cried,  (  I'm 
comin'  my  husban',  I'm  comin' !  '  After  she 
sunk,  I  jumped  in  an'  follered  her.  She  laid  by 
her  husban's  side,  with  her  breas'  on  his,  an' 
her  cheek  close  'gainst  his  face.  One  arm  was 
on  his  shoulder.  I  bent  it  roun'  his  neck.  I 
told  her  I  would.  I  expect  she  held  her  breath 
an'  kep'  her  will  till  she  was  ready,  an'  then  she 
died.  She  was  Mars  Jack's  brave  wife.  I  helpt 
her  before  she  went  down,  and  I  helpt  her 
down  thar.  I  had  to  dive  down  five  times  afore 
I  got  it  all  right.  The  water  was  cold,  but  I 
didn't  feel  it." 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  289 

He  paused  a  few  minutes  and  then  continued : 
"  Mr.  Jamison,  the  man  who  could  'er  resisted 
Miss  Rita's  pleadin'  when  she  begged  me  to  help 
her,  would  'er  been  hard  hearteder  than  me.  I 
I  done  it,  an'  I  thank  God  I  done  it  good. 

"Mars  John  when  he  was  a  school  boy  tole  me 
an  Dineli  about  a  good  man  before  Christ  come 
to  save  us  sinners.  That  man  took  some  sort 
'er  tea"— "Was  it  hemlock?"  I  interjected. 
"  Yes,  that  wus  it ;  he  took  hemlock  tea,  kaze  the 
city  ordered  it.  Mars  John  said  that  nobody 
ever  'cused  that  good  man  of  suicide.  He  told 
.us  of  a  great  many  good  men  a  long  while  ago 
who  killed  thar  selves  an'  nobody  called  it  sui- 
cide. He  tole  us  of  one  great  man  running  on 
a  sword  held  out  by  his  servant  an'  nobody  ain't 
'cused  that  servant  of  murder.  Miss  Rita  done 
what  the  good  man  done  a  long  while  ago.  She 
didn't  drown  herself;  she  went  to  her  husband 
kaze  she  heard  him  callin'  her.  I  didn't  commit 
murder.  I  held  the  sword  as  'er  faithful  servant 
oughter  do." 

"Now  Mr.  Jamison,  is  it  better  she'd  be  alive, 
the  widow  of  a  unmarried-bed;  married  in 
Heaven,  but  her  marriage  not  by  the  law;  the 
widow  of  no  lawful  husban';  to  be  pinted  at  by 
the  finger  of  scorn?  Would  it  be  better  fur  her 
to  be  here,  with  madness  peraps  in  her  mine- 
maybe  in  a  lunatic  sylum,  or  by  her  husban's 
side,  down  thar  in  the  bottom  of  the  lake?" 


290  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

"Men  will  be  judged,  Jim,  I  believe  according 
to  their  lights,"  I  answered. 

With  a  sigh  he  returned,  ul'm  willin'  to  be 
judged  !  Now,  sir,  we  must  finish  our  task." 

We  labored  four  days.  Jim  dived  down  and 
anchored  long  poles  to  guide  our  work.  By 
means  of  these  and  by  diving  he  spread  the  can- 
vas sheets  over  the  bodies.  He  anchored  them 
safely  with  the  chains  and  boulders.  We  let  the 
heavy  stones  down  by  cords  gently  to  prevent 
th»em  from  falling  upon  the  bodies.  The  Big 
Rock  arises  in  a  small  land  locked  cove,  thor- 
oughly protected  from  outer-waves,  and  almost 
hidden  from  view  lake-ward.  But  for  this  we 
could  not  have  performed  our  task.  We  strewed 
the  boughs  over  the  canvas,  securing  them  in 
turn  so  as  to  catch  the  sands  and  gravels  over  the 
last  resting  place  of  our  loved  ones.  Chilled 
though  he  was  to  the  very  bones,  the  determined 
negro  would  not  desist  from  his  labours,  until 
thoroughly  satisfied. 

When  all  was  finished,  with  uncovered  head 
the  negro  threw  a  handful  of  dirt  into  the  water, 
saying,  his  voice  broken  with  sobs:  "Dust  to 
dust !  Dust  to  dust!" 

We  sang  a  hymn  while  tears  streamed  down 
our  faces,  and  left  the  dear  dead  to  Him  who  cre- 
ated them,  and  to  Him  who  died  that  man  might 
be  redeemed. 


THE  OLD  MAN'S  STORY. 

It  was  dusk  on  Saturday,  the  fourth  day,  when 
our  work  was  ended.  When  we  reached  the 
camp  old  Akbar  who  had  been  sick  since  the 
night  of  the  rain,  lay  dead  before  the  tent.  We 
buried  him  that  night  near  the  rock. 

Never  was  Sabbath  rest  more  needed,  than  by 
us  the  next  day.  For  days  we  had  labored  under 
intense  excitement.  The  strain  removed,  we 
were  limp  and  nerveless.  Jim  advised  hot  drinks, 
very  warm  clothing  and  wraps  and  absolute 
rest. 

He  covered  himself  head  and  all,  sleeping 
heavily  for  nearly  twenty-four  hours.  Monday 
morning  found  him  rested  but  "  stiff  in  der 
jints." 

When  we  were  about  to  abandon  the  camp,  I 
intimated  that  it  was  necessary  for  me  to  go  to 
Chicago,  to  see  to  winding  up  my  friend's  estate. 
The  negro  said  with  great  dignity,  "No!  Mr. 
Jamison  it  is  not  necessary,  but  I  want  you  to 
go.  Mr.  Felden  lef  a  paper  that  makes  every- 
thing mine.  Thar  wur  three  copies  of  it.  One 
is  in  the  safe  in  Chicago.  Miss  Rita  had  one  in 
a  belt  on  her  waist  and  the  other  is  in  a  rubber 
bag  here." 

He  pointed  to  his  waist. 

"Ef  Miss  Rita  had  er  lived  every  thing  would 
er  been  hers,  excep  a  good  livin  for  Dineh  and 
me.  But  now  I  must  take  every  thing  to  make 


292  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

good  poor  colored  people  happy.  The  paper  tells 
me  how  to  do  it.  We  don't  have  to  go  to  the 
court.  Mr.  Felden  didn't  want  nobody  to  know 
that  his  wife  did  not  have  his  lawful  name,  and 
fixed  it  so  I  can  take  every  thing." 

Fora  few  moments  he  was  silent  and  then  con- 
tinued, "Mr.  Felden  the  day  before  he  died  told 
me  a  honester  man  never  lived  than  Mr.  Paul 
Jamison,  and  ef  any  thing  happened  to  him  he 
wanted  you  to  be  a  friend  to  his  wife.  Now  Mr. 
Jamison  I  am  rich,  but  I  am  a  steward  an'  must 
use  every  dollar  jis  like  my  marster  said  I  must. 
Ef  you  will  help  me,  I  will  give  you  a  good  sa- 
lary and  you  kin  carry  out  a  noble  purpose. 

I  reflected  a  few  moments  and  said,  "Jim,  I 
accept  your  proposition, 'and  will  devote  all  of 
my  energies  to  the  cause  Mr.  Felden  had  at 
heart.  It  is  a  noble  one;  one  which  at  this  junc- 
ture is  as  worthy  as  any  other  on  earth.  I  will, 
however,  take  of  the  salary  you  offer  only  what 
I  need  for  a  comfortable  life." 

He  seemed  greatly  pleased,  saying:  "I  need 
you  Mr.  Jamison.  In  Cincinnati  an'  in  Chicago 
my  master  began  to  educate  me.  I  studied 
hard,  and  it  was  hard  work,  but  I've  liked  best 
when  I  was  a  servant,  to  be  a  humble  negro. 
But  now  I  must  be  a  man,  with  grave  sponser- 
bilities,  and  must  forgit  what  I  was,  in  what  I 
am.  When  I  ac'  the  part  of  a  negro  servant,  I 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  293 

talk  like  a  servant.  It  comes  natral  to  me  an'  I 
likes  it.  But  now  I  am  a  servant  no  more,  an'  I 
spose  I  can  change  my  speech  onbeknownst  jess 
like  Mars  Jack.  When  he  wus  rosy  and  light 

haired  he  was  John ,  when  he  wus  dark 

an'  black  headed,  he  was  Jack  Felden. 

My  granfather  was  brung  from  Africy  a  boy. 
He  allers  claimed  he  wus  a  great  chief — a  king. 
My  young  master  John  used  to  call  me  "King 
Jim."  He  said  the  Africin  heathen  cropped  out 
'er  me.  I've  studied,  but  I'm  ignorant.  I  know 
nothing  of  the  world  but  what  he  learned  me.  I 
learned  to  read,  so  I  could  read  his  letters.  I 
learned  how  to  talk  to  fit  me  to  do  business  for 
Mr.  Felden.  My  learnin'  ain't  much,  an'  that's 
what  I  want  you  for,  to  help  me  do  my  work." 

We  reached  Chicago  in  due  time.  Dinah  was 
almost  inconsolable  when  her  husband  told  of 
the  double  tragedy.  She  began  to  droop  and  pine 
away.  We  rapidly  arranged  our  affairs,  finding 
no  difficulty  in  doing  so, for  nearly  everything  was 
in  good  stocks  and  bonds.  The  bank  settled  with 
Madison  as  per  written  orders  from  Mr.  Felden, 
found  in  his  safe;  making  no  inquiries  except 
kindly  ones  as  to  his  health.  These  Madison 
evaded  adroitly. 

When  all  was  finished,  we  took  Dinah  to  a 
warmer  climate.  Madison  needed  the  change  al- 
most as  much  as  she.  His  natural  predisposition 


294  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

to  rheumatism  had  been  greatly  aggravated  by 
his  exposure  to  the  chilly  water  at  the  foot  of 
the  Rock.  Indeed  he  suffered  for  many  years 
greatly  from  that  cause.  Change  of  climate  did 
him  good,  but  poor  Dinah's  complaint,  no 
human  agency  or  climatic  influence  could  reach. 
One  evening  about  four  months  after  the  sad 
event  at  the  camp,  she  went  out  as  a  burning 
candle — a  flicker,  and  all  was  over.  Her  hus- 
band said  "She  didn't  die,  she  jess  went  to 
Jesus  an'  to  her  foster-chile.'1 

We  earnestly  set  to  work  to  carry  out  Mr. 
Felden's  wishes,  greatly,  I  think  to  the  benefits 
of  a  down  trodden  race.  We  kept  only  enough 
to  support  ourselves  economically  through  the 
remainder  of  life.  The  old  negro  never  per- 
mitted anyone  to  know  whence  benefits  sprang, 
or  who  gave  out  charities.  He  said,  uMr.  John 

died  long  ago  in  India  ;  Mr.  Jack  Felden 

an'  his  wife  sleep  in  their  unknown  grave ;  no 
one  but  us  knows  who  he  wus,  nor  what  he  did, 
in  fact,  you  don't  know  his  real  name  ;  no  body 
except  me  knows  that ;  and  no  body  but  us  mus 
know  what  he  is  doing  now  he's  dead.  If  he 
looks  down  on  us  an'  sees  what  we  are  doin' 
with  what  helef,his  spirit  rejoices  that  we  don't 
ask  no  thanks  for  him,  but  are  doin'  our  best  to 
make  some  sufferin'  black  folks  happy. 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY. 


295 


A  short  while  before  I  met  you,  Madison 
and  I  went  from  Mackinaw  to  pay  what  would 
most  probably  be  our  last  visit  to  the  scenes 
hallowed  by  so  many  sad,  yet  endearing  memo- 
ries. We  stopped  at and  rowed  to  the 

Big  Rock  a  few  miles  away.  It  lifted  from  the 
water  dark  and  frowning  as  it  appeared  to  us  a 
score  of  years  before.  Lichens  and  moss  parti- 
ally covered  the  space  from  which  the  mass  fell 
when  Felden  was  carried  to  his  death.  The 
fresher  cleavage  was  to  us  a  tablet  memorial  of 
the  sad  event. 

With  a  long  pole  to  which  he  had  attached  an 
iron  hook,  Jim  probed  the  secrets  of  the  deep. 
His  gratification  was  unbounded  when  he  dis- 
covered that  not  only  were  the  boulders  holding 
down  the  canvas  winding  sheets  entirely  under 
sand  and  gravel,  but  the  accumulations  nearly 
covered  the  boughs  and  brush  placed  over  the 
grave. 

Madison's  aged  head  whitened  by  eighty-two 
winters  was  lifted  erect  upon  his  broad  should- 
ers ;  and  a  mild  August  breeze  coming  in  from 
the  lake  and  gently  circling  around  the  little 
cove,  bore  upon  its  wings  his  sweetly  modulated 
thanks  'to  the  Almighty  God  for  his  many 
mercies.' 

For  a  while  we  sat  silent  in  deep  thought,  and 
then  he  said,  "  Let's  go  now,  Mr.  Jamison,  I 


296  A  SUMMER'S  OUTING. 

feels  secure  that  Mr.  Jack  Felden  and  his  wife 
down  thar  under  the  sand  and  water,  will  sleep 
undisturbed. 

I  rowed  out  of  the  cove,  the  old  negro  keeping 
his  sad  eyes  rivited  upon  the  fatal  rock.  We 
turned  the  point  which  hid  it  from  the  lake  ;  he 
seized  an  oar  and  working  manfully,  uttered  not 
a  word  until  we  drew  up  under  the  village. 

The  mental  and  bodily  strain,  however,  had 
been  too  much  for  the  old  man.  I  was  compelled 
to  call  for  aid  to  support  his  tottering  steps  to 
our  room.  He  staggered  and  fell  upon  his  bed ; 
his  massive  form  gave  way,  like  a  glass  shattered 
by  a  blow. 

His  mind  and  speech  remained  unimpaired. 
He  positively  refused  to  have  a  physician  called, 
declaring  if  it  was  the  Lord's  will  he  should 
go,  he  would  obey  the  will  of  the  Lord.  He  lay 
for  several  days  without  a  murmur  or  a  com- 
plaint. One  night  I  was  awakened  by  a  deep 
groan;  hurrying  to  his  bedside,  a  single  glance 
told  me  his  end  was  nearly  come.  For  several 
hours  he  lay  in  a  dull  stupor,  his  labored  breath- 
ing alone  showing  that  life  was  still  in  his 
breast.  His  breathing  grew  fainter  and  fainter, 
until  just  as  the  rising  sun  poured  through  the 
window,  it  seemed  to  die  away.  I  hastened  to 
his  side  to  close  the  tired  faithful  eyes  in  their 
last  long  sleep,  when  the  wan  lips  opened  to 


THE   OLD   MAN'S   STORY.  297 

whisper,  "Good-bye  Mr.  Jamison,  good-bye"! 
and  then  as  if  by  mere  will  power  he  sat  erect 
on  his  bed  and  cried  in  a  loud  voice  "  Bress  de 
Lord!  I  see  Mars  John!  Diner!  Jim's  gwine 
home;"  and  then  he  died. 

Two  Finns,  fresh  immigrants  in  the  land, 
rowed  me  with  the  body  to  the  cove.  There  on 
the  shore  in  a  spot  shadowed  at  evening  by  the 
Big  Rock  we  buried  him.  The  sun  hovering 
above  the  whispering  maples  lighted  the  last  sad 
rites  to  the  end.  The  waves  from  the  lake 
stealing  into  the  cove  in  mild  ripples,  sang  with 
mysterious  cadence  a  sweet,  loving  requiem. 
The  dying  day,  the  whispering  breeze,  the  sigh- 
ing wavelets  and  the  solitude  seemed  to  my 
over-wrought  senses  to  promise  a  fulfillment  of 
the  negro's  prophecy  ";  that  the  sleepers  below 
would  rest  undisturbed  until  summoned  on  the 
last  and  final  call  ;  that  until  then  u  The  Big 
Rock  would  keep  its  sad  secret." 

In  giving  this  story  to  the  world,  I  feel  guilt- 
less of  violating  any  pledge  of  secrecy.  There 
is  nothing  in  the  names  mentioned  to  enable  any 
one  to  probe  the  mystery  of  John  -  -  .  The 
terrible  events  of  the  war  about  his  old  home, 
scattered  its  residents,  and  to-day  the  places  that 
knew  them  know  them  no  more. 


A  RACE  WITH  THE  SUN. 

Round  the  World  in  Sixteen  Months 

BY 

HON.  CARTER  H.  HARRISON. 


32  FULL-PAGE  HALF-TONE  ILLUSTRATIONS. 


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